Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 180

Devanagari script

चतुश्चत्वारिंशदधिकचतुःशतमितात्मनाम् । ग्रामास्त्रयोदशार्चार्थं सीतापुरसमन्विताः

Transliteration

catuścatvāriṃśadadhikacatuḥśatamitātmanām | grāmāstrayodaśārcārthaṃ sītāpurasamanvitāḥ

Translation

അവിടെ നാലുനൂറ്റി നാല്പത് ആത്മനിയന്ത്രണമുള്ള ഭക്തർ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു; സീതാപുരം ഉൾപ്പെടെ പതിമൂന്ന് ഗ്രാമങ്ങൾ പൂജ‑അർച്ചനയും നൈവേദ്യാർപ്പണവും വേണ്ടി നിശ്ചയിക്കപ്പെട്ടു।

Word by Word

• catuḥ: four
• catuḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (numeral used as prior member)

• catvāriṃśat: forty
• catvāriṃśat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catvāriṃśat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः (numeral), समासपूर्वपदत्वेन

• adhika: additional, exceeding
• adhika: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण; समासमध्यपदत्वेन (in compound)

• catuḥśata: four hundred
• catuḥśata: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catuḥ-śata (प्रातिपदिक; चतुः + शत)
• Form: द्विगुसमासः; संख्यावाचकं (four hundred)

• mita: measured, limited
• mita: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mā (धाातु) + kta (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; समासपूर्वपदत्वेन

• ātmanām: of the selves/persons
• ātmanām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• grāmāḥ: villages
• grāmāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with grāmāḥ)

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः; समासाङ्गत्वेन (in compound with trayaḥ)

• arca-artham: for worship (purpose)
• arca-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arca-artha (प्रातिपदिक; अर्चा + अर्थ)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी/उद्देश्यभावः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (for the purpose of)

• sītā-pura-samanvitāḥ: accompanied by Sītā’s city
• sītā-pura-samanvitāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sītā-pura-samanvita (प्रातिपदिक; सीता + पुर + समन्वित)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with grāmāḥ)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within Brāhma Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sītāpura (associated sacred settlement)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm sacred township: a central shrine with orderly offerings; rows of ascetics/householders in restraint; scribes recording village grants; processions bringing grain, ghee, flowers from thirteen villages to Sītāpura.

Characters & Entities

• Sītāpura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustaining sacred worship through organized support (endowments and service) is presented as a dhārmic act that preserves tīrtha-glory.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya’s sacred landscape, including the locality named Sītāpura, is being described as part of the tīrtha ecology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcā/archana—formal worship supported by designated villages/resources for offerings and maintenance.