Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

दशमं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं तावत्संख्यमिहोच्यते । लैङ्गमेकादशं ज्ञेयं तथैकादशसंख्यया

Transliteration

daśamaṃ brahmavaivartaṃ tāvatsaṃkhyamihocyate | laiṅgamekādaśaṃ jñeyaṃ tathaikādaśasaṃkhyayā

Translation

പത്താമത് ബ്രഹ്മവൈവർത്തപുരാണം; ഇവിടെ അതിന്റെ ശ്ലോകസംഖ്യയും അത്രതന്നെയെന്നു പറയുന്നു. പതിനൊന്നാമത് ലൈംഗ (ലിംഗ) പുരാണം അറിയേണ്ടത്; അതിന്റെ എണ്ണം പതിനൊന്നായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളെന്നു കീര്ത്തിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• daśamam: tenth
• daśamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक

• brahma-vaivartam: (the) Brahmavaivarta (Purāṇa)
• brahma-vaivartam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + vaivarta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ग्रन्थनाम; तत्पुरुष

• tāvat-saṃkhyam: of that much count
• tāvat-saṃkhyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘so much in number’

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/प्रसङ्गवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• ucyate: is said
• ucyate: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

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

• ekādaśam: eleventh
• ekādaśam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक/संख्याविशेषण

• jñeyam: should be known
• jñeyam: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु) → jñeya (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त-भाव्य/विधेय (तव्यत्/अनीयर्-भावः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘to be known’

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

• ekādaśa-saṃkhyayā: by the number eleven (i.e., 11,000 implied)
• ekādaśa-saṃkhyayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘एकादश संख्या’

Speaker

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

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A balanced diptych: on one side a radiant liṅga with bilva leaves; on the other a Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa emblem; sages in the center recite the canon list, symbolizing harmony of traditions.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa
• Liṅga Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tradition maintains a disciplined catalog of texts, enabling reliable study and sectarian/theological orientation (e.g., Liṅga for Śaiva focus).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the verse is a bibliographic enumeration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides ordering and verse-counts.