Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

पुरा कैलासशिखरे हालास्ये शिवमंदिरे । चतुर्विशतिसाहस्रा मुनयो ब्रह्मवादिनः

Transliteration

purā kailāsaśikhare hālāsye śivamaṃdire | caturviśatisāhasrā munayo brahmavādinaḥ

Translation

പുരാതനകാലത്ത് കൈലാസശിഖരത്തിലെ ഹാലാസ്യയിലെ ശിവമന്ദിരത്തിൽ ബ്രഹ്മതത്ത്വം പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്ന ഇരുപത്തിനാലായിരം മുനിമാർ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (formerly/once)

• kailāsa-śikhare: on the peak of Kailāsa
• kailāsa-śikhare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kailāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + śikhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कैलासस्य शिखरम्)

• hālāsye: in Hālāsya
• hālāsye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hālāsya (प्रातिपदिक; स्थाननाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• śiva-maṃdire: in Śiva's temple
• śiva-maṃdire: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + maṃdira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शिवस्य मन्दिरम्)

• catur-viśati-sāhasrāḥ: twenty-four thousand (in number)
• catur-viśati-sāhasrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या) + viśati (संख्या) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (चतुर्विंशतिसहस्रसंख्यकाः)

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• brahma-vādinaḥ: expounders of Brahman/Veda
• brahma-vādinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + vādin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्म वदन्ति ये)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kailāsa (Śiva-dhāma)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic Himalayan peak with a Śiva temple; an immense congregation of sages (24,000) seated in orderly rows, suggesting vastness and spiritual gravity.

Characters & Entities

• Kailāsa
• Hālāsya
• Śiva (temple)
• Munis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as living centers of wisdom where great assemblies of sages uphold brahman and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kailāsa and Hālāsya’s Śiva-temple locale, presented as an exalted spiritual setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse establishes the sanctified setting associated with worship and teaching.