Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

पंचपंचाशद्ग्रामाणां ते द्विजाश्च निवासिनः । चतुर्विद्यास्तु ते प्रोक्तास्तदादि तु त्रिविद्यकाः

Transliteration

paṃcapaṃcāśadgrāmāṇāṃ te dvijāśca nivāsinaḥ | caturvidyāstu te proktāstadādi tu trividyakāḥ

Translation

ಆ ದ್ವಿಜರು ಐವತ್ತೈದು ಗ್ರಾಮಗಳ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಾದರು. ಅವರನ್ನು ‘ಚಾತುರ್ವಿದ್ಯ’ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಯಿತು; ಆ ಬಳಿಕ (ಇತರರು) ‘ತ್ರಿವಿದ್ಯಕ’ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧರಾದರು॥

Word by Word

• paṃca-paṃcāśat-grāmāṇām: of the fifty-five villages
• paṃca-paṃcāśat-grāmāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (संख्या) + paṃcāśat (संख्या) + grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यासमास): ‘पञ्चपञ्चाशत्’ = 55; ‘५५ ग्रामाणाम्’

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• dvijāḥ: twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• nivāsinaḥ: residents
• nivāsinaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nivāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (निवासिन् = resident)

• caturvidyāḥ: the Caturvidyās
• caturvidyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturvidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• proktāḥ: were called/said
• proktāḥ: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग) ; ‘prokta’ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tad-ādi: beginning with that
• tad-ādi: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगे), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘तत् आदिः’ = beginning with that

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• trividyakāḥ: the Trividyakas
• trividyakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trividyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (त्रिविद्यक = belonging to Trividyā group)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stylized map-like tableau: clusters of villages (55) around a central sacred forest/kshetra; brāhmaṇas shown settling, building āśramas, and teaching Veda.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija
• Caturvidya
• Trividyaka
• Grāma (villages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred landscapes are maintained through settled communities of learning, whose identities and duties are defined for continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya as a sacred region is implied; the verse references village-settlements rather than a single named tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it records settlement and nomenclature.