Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं सीमांतं द्विजसत्तमाः । क्षेत्रस्यास्य प्रमाणं च विस्तरेण चतुर्दिशम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṃ sīmāṃtaṃ dvijasattamāḥ | kṣetrasyāsya pramāṇaṃ ca vistareṇa caturdiśam

Translation

ಸೂತನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಹೇ ದ್ವಿಜಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠರೇ! ಈ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಸೀಮಾರೇಖೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ನಾಲ್ಕು ದಿಕ್ಕುಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಅದರ ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತಿಯನ್ನೂ ನಾನು ನಿಮಗೆ ವಿವರವಾಗಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vaḥ: to you / your
• vaḥ: Sampradāna/Śeṣa (To you / of you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Genitive/Dative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (etat इत्यस्य)

• ākhyātam: has been told
• ākhyātam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-khyā (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भाव (told/declared)

• sīmāntam: boundary / limit
• sīmāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sīmānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे नपुंसकवत्), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• dvijasattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvijasattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (द्विजानां सत्तमाः) संबोधनार्थे (vocative sense)

• kṣetrasya: of the field (sacred area)
• kṣetrasya: Śeṣa (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• asya: of this
• asya: Śeṣa (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pramāṇam: measure / extent
• pramāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• vistareṇa: in detail
• vistareṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (in detail)

• caturdiśam: (in) the four directions / four-sided
• caturdiśam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur + diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (चतस्रः दिशः यस्य/यत्र)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija-sattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta seated in a forest hermitage addressing sages; behind him a stylized map-like panorama: four directions indicated with boundary markers—rivers, trees, shrines, and stones—encircling the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• dvijasattamāḥ (sages)
• kṣetra
• sīmānta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are preserved and approached rightly when their boundaries, extent, and sanctified geography are clearly known and respected.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kṣetra whose sīmānta (boundary limits) and four-direction extent are being described in this chapter’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse functions as a narrative marker concluding the boundary-description.