Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

शतं सरस्वतीसङ्गे शुक्लतीर्थे शतद्वयम् । सहस्रं विष्णुतीर्थेषु महिष्मत्यामथायुतम्

Transliteration

śataṃ sarasvatīsaṅge śuklatīrthe śatadvayam | sahasraṃ viṣṇutīrtheṣu mahiṣmatyāmathāyutam

Translation

ಸರಸ್ವತೀ-ಸಂಗಮದಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರು ತೀರ್ಥಗಳು; ಶುಕ್ಲ-ತೀರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ನೂರು. ವಿಷ್ಣು-ತೀರ್ಥಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾವಿರ, ಮತ್ತು ಮಹೀಷ್ಮತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ತೀರ್ಥಗಳಿವೆ.

Word by Word

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• सरस्वती-सङ्गे: at the Sarasvatī confluence
• सरस्वती-सङ्गे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक) + सङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक; सङ्गम-पर्याय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमीविभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सरस्वत्याः सङ्गः/सङ्गमः)

• शुक्ल-तीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्ल-तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमीविभक्ति; एकवचन; कर्मधारय (शुक्लं तीर्थम्)

• शत-द्वयम्: two hundred
• शत-द्वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वय (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; द्विगुसमास (द्वे शते = 200)

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• विष्णु-तीर्थेषु: in the Viṣṇu-tīrthas
• विष्णु-तीर्थेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमीविभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (विष्णोः तीर्थाणि)

• महिष्मत्याम्: in/at Mahiṣmatī
• महिष्मत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महिष्मती (प्रातिपदिक; नगरनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमीविभक्ति; एकवचन

• अथ: then, further
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: ‘then/now/and further’)

• अयुतम्: ten thousand
• अयुतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (ten thousand)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (as referenced in this adhyāya’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-saṅga; Śukla-tīrtha; Viṣṇu-tīrthas; Mahīṣmatī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence tableau: Sarasvatī confluence with scholars and veena motif; Śukla-tīrtha with white-clad devotees and bright steps; Viṣṇu-tīrthas with a small Viṣṇu shrine and tulasī; Mahīṣmatī as a fortified river-city with ghāṭs, temples, and boats on the Narmadā.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī-saṅgama
• Śukla-tīrtha
• Viṣṇu-tīrtha
• Mahīṣmatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Different tīrthas possess different ‘weights’ of sanctity; the text celebrates sacred topography by quantifying tīrtha-presence to inspire faith and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī-saṅgama, Śukla-tīrtha, the Viṣṇu-tīrthas, and Mahīṣmatī—each praised as a potent locus of many tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse functions as māhātmya-style glorification that implicitly encourages snāna, dāna, and darśana.