Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

विस्तरेण तु राजेन्द्र अर्धयोजनमायता । षष्टितीर्थसहस्राणि षष्टिकोट्यस्तथैव च

Transliteration

vistareṇa tu rājendra ardhayojanamāyatā | ṣaṣṭitīrthasahasrāṇi ṣaṣṭikoṭyastathaiva ca

Translation

എന്നാൽ, ഹേ രാജേന്ദ്ര! വീതിയിൽ ഇത് അർദ്ധയോജനമത്രേ. ഇവിടെ അറുപതിനായിരം തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്—അതുപോലെ അറുപത് കോടിയും ഉണ്ടെന്ന് പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• vistareṇa: in detail
• vistareṇa: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); प्रकारेण (in detail)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• rājendra: O king of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja-indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः’

• ardha-yojanam: half a yojana
• ardha-yojanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha + yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); परिमाणवाचक-द्विगु (half-yojana as a measure)

• āyatā: extended, long
• āyatā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āyata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ‘आयता’ = extended/long; (elliptically qualifying a feminine noun like ‘सरित्’)

• ṣaṣṭi-tīrtha-sahasrāṇi: sixty thousand tīrthas
• ṣaṣṭi-tīrtha-sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi + tīrtha + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); संख्या-विशेषणपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषः ‘षष्टि-तीर्थाणां सहस्राणि’

• ṣaṣṭi-koṭyaḥ: sixty crores
• ṣaṣṭi-koṭyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); संख्या-समासः (sixty crores)

• tathā: thus, likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: thus/so)

• eva: indeed, exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle: just/indeed)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

Speaker

Vāyu (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-samūha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cartographic-sacred vision: the Narmadā shown broad and luminous, with innumerable tiny shrine-markers and bathing ghats along both sides, suggesting ‘sixty thousand’ and ‘sixty crores’ as a symbolic infinity.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Revā’s sanctity is expressed through vast scale—both physical breadth and innumerable tīrthas—inviting reverence for sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā/Revā river system as an immense continuum of tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse underwrites the religious value of extensive river-pilgrimage and tīrtha-sevā.