Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

विभक्तं सप्तभिः खण्डैः स्कान्दं भाग्यवतां वर । तदेकाशीतिसाहस्रं संख्यया वै निरूपितम्

Transliteration

vibhaktaṃ saptabhiḥ khaṇḍaiḥ skāndaṃ bhāgyavatāṃ vara | tadekāśītisāhasraṃ saṃkhyayā vai nirūpitam

Translation

ഹേ ഭാഗ്യവാന്മാരിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനേ! സ്കാന്ദപുരാണം ഏഴ് ഖണ്ഡങ്ങളായി വിഭജിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. അതിന്റെ പരിമാണം സംഖ്യപ്രകാരം നിശ്ചയമായി എൺപത്തൊന്നായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളെന്ന് നിർണ്ണയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• vibhaktam: divided
• vibhaktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√bhaj (भज्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्कान्दम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• saptabhiḥ: by seven
• saptabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘खण्डैः’ इति विशेषणम्

• khaṇḍaiḥ: sections/parts
• khaṇḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• skāndam: the Skānda (Purāṇa)
• skāndam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skānda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (पुराणनाम)

• bhāgyavatām: of the fortunate
• bhāgyavatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgyavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (समूह/जन), षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘वर’ इत्यस्य षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः

• vara: O best (one)
• vara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• tat-ekāśīti-sāhasram: that (is) eighty-one thousand
• tat-ekāśīti-sāhasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ekāśīti (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (तत् + ८१-सहस्रम्)

• saṃkhyayā: by count/number
• saṃkhyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• nirūpitam: has been specified/stated
• nirūpitam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√rūp (रूप्/रूपय्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (it has been stated/defined)

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Skanda Purāṇa (as tīrtha-grantha / yātrā-mārga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhāgyavatāṃ vara (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary map-like tableau: seven panels or mandala petals labeled as the seven khaṇḍas, each showing a signature sacred landscape (mountain, river, temple city, sea-shore), while a narrator proclaims the Skanda’s vast extent (81,000).

Characters & Entities

• Skanda Purāṇa (Skānda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Skanda Purāṇa is presented as a vast, systematically organized dharma-text—its division into khaṇḍas supports comprehensive teaching of sacred places and conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse identifies the Skanda Purāṇa itself as a multi-khaṇḍa framework that houses numerous tīrtha-māhātmyas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse states the Skanda Purāṇa’s structural division and total verse-count.