Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

चतुर्विंशतिसंख्यातं सहस्राणि तु शौनक । चतुर्भिः पर्वभिः प्रोक्तं भविष्यं पञ्चमं तथा

Transliteration

caturviṃśatisaṃkhyātaṃ sahasrāṇi tu śaunaka | caturbhiḥ parvabhiḥ proktaṃ bhaviṣyaṃ pañcamaṃ tathā

Translation

ഹേ ശൗനകാ! ഇതിന്റെ ഗ്രന്ഥവിസ്താരം ഇരുപത്തിനാലായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളെന്നു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. അതുപോലെ അഞ്ചാമത്തെ ഭവിഷ്യപുരാണവും നാലു പർവ്വങ്ങളായി ഉപദേശിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• caturviṃśati-saṃkhyātam: counted as twenty-four
• caturviṃśati-saṃkhyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturviṃśati (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyāta (कृदन्त, √khyā (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (क्त), विशेषणरूपेण

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे

• śaunaka: O Śaunaka
• śaunaka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaunaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• caturbhiḥ: with four
• caturbhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• parvabhiḥ: by sections/parts
• parvabhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• proktam: is declared
• proktam: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘said/declared’

• bhaviṣyam: (the) Bhaviṣya (Purāṇa)
• bhaviṣyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaviṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ग्रन्थनाम

• pañcamam: fifth
• pañcamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti), addressing Śaunaka and the sages (explicit address: śaunaka)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest āśrama setting: sage Śaunaka seated among ṛṣis, listening as the narrator enumerates Purāṇas and their parvans; palm-leaf manuscripts and a low wooden desk nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Bhaviṣya Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred knowledge is preserved through orderly structure—counts, divisions, and classification—supporting accurate teaching and remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is bibliographic, not a tīrtha-māhātmya passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it notes the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa’s division into four parvans.