Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशसहस्राणि तथा पञ्च शतानि तत् । मार्कण्डं नवसाहस्रं षष्ठं तत्परिकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

caturdaśasahasrāṇi tathā pañca śatāni tat | mārkaṇḍaṃ navasāhasraṃ ṣaṣṭhaṃ tatparikīrtitam

Translation

ആ പുരാണം പതിനാലായിരം അഞ്ചുനൂറ് ശ്ലോകപരിമാണമെന്നു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. മാർകണ്ഡേയപുരാണം ഒൻപതിനായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളുള്ളത്; അതാണ് ആറാമതായി പ്രഖ്യാതം.

Word by Word

• caturdaśa-sahasrāṇi: fourteen thousand(s)
• caturdaśa-sahasrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक)

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

• pañca: five
• pañca: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; (प्रायः) प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचनार्थे; ‘five’

• śatāni: hundreds
• śatāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन

• tat: that (amount/that)
• tat: Anuvāda/Pratinidhi (Referent/अनुवाद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• nava-sāhasram: nine-thousand (in extent)
• nava-sāhasram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nava (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास; संख्याविशेषण

• ṣaṣṭham: sixth
• ṣaṣṭham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक

• tat-parikīrtitam: is thus proclaimed
• tat-parikīrtitam: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pari-√kīrt (धातु) → parikīrtita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (क्त); ‘thus proclaimed’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti), addressing Śaunaka and the sages (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Narrator continues listing Purāṇas with verse counts; sages mark tallies on a palm-leaf or wooden counting board; the atmosphere is orderly and reverent.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya (Mārkaṇḍa) Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tradition safeguards dharma by preserving clear identifiers of texts—order, names, and extent—so teachings remain traceable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse provides counts and ordering.