Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

ततश्चाप्यधिकानि स्युरिति मार्कण्डभाषितम् । अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि व्यासद्वीपाश्रितानि च

Transliteration

tataścāpyadhikāni syuriti mārkaṇḍabhāṣitam | aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi vyāsadvīpāśritāni ca

Translation

ഇവയ്ക്ക് പുറമേ ഇനിയും അധികം (തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ) ഉണ്ടെന്നു മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു. വ്യാസദ്വീപത്തെ ആശ്രയിച്ച തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ എൺപത്തെട്ട് ആയിരമെന്നും പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (thereafter/then)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (also/even)

• adhikāni: more/additional
• adhikāni: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (प्रमाणानि/संख्याः)

• syuḥ: may be/are said to be
• syuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु; ‘to be’)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-कारक-अव्यय (quotative)

• mārkaṇḍa-bhāṣitam: the statement of Mārkaṇḍa
• mārkaṇḍa-bhāṣitam: Karta (Predicative noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍa + bhāṣita (प्रातिपदिक; bhāṣita from √bhāṣ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त ‘bhāṣita’; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mārkaṇḍasya bhāṣitam)

• aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi: eighty-eight thousand
• aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭāśīti-sahasra (प्रातिपदिक; aṣṭāśīti + sahasra)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (88,000)

• vyāsa-dvīpa-āśritāni: located in/associated with Vyāsa-dvīpa
• vyāsa-dvīpa-āśritāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāsa-dvīpa + āśrita (कृदन्त, क्त; √śri with ā-)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vyāsasya dvīpaḥ) + उपपद-समासभावः; ‘āśrita’ = ‘resorted to/located in’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

Speaker

Narrator citing Mārkaṇḍeya (Mārkaṇḍeya-bhāṣita)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vyāsa-dvīpa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijāḥ / audience in Revā-khaṇḍa narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya speaking, with a subtle vision of Vyāsa-dvīpa: an island in the river with a hermitage, palm-leaf manuscripts, and innumerable small tīrtha symbols; Vyāsa is shown in the background as a sanctifying presence.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Vyāsa-dvīpa
• tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is inexhaustible; the text suggests that tīrtha-power exceeds any single enumeration, pointing to the boundlessness of dharma and grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vyāsa-dvīpa is highlighted as a major sacred locus connected with an immense number of tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated; the verse functions as an authoritative citation to intensify reverence for Vyāsa-dvīpa and related tīrtha-practice.