Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सत्यादुपरि वैकुंठो योजनानां प्रमाणतः । भूर्लोकात्परिसंख्यातः कोटिषोडशसंमितः

Transliteration

satyādupari vaikuṃṭho yojanānāṃ pramāṇataḥ | bhūrlokātparisaṃkhyātaḥ koṭiṣoḍaśasaṃmitaḥ

Translation

സത്യലോകത്തിനുമീതെ വൈകുണ്ഠധാമം സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു; അത് യോജനപ്രമാണത്തിൽ അളക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. ഭൂലോകത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അതിന്റെ ദൂരം പതിനാറുകോടി (യോജന) എന്നു കണക്കാക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• सत्यात्: from Satya (loka)
• सत्यात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• उपरि: above
• उपरि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-स्थानवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• वैकुण्ठः: Vaikuṇṭha
• वैकुण्ठः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैकुण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• प्रमाणतः: by measure; in extent
• प्रमाणतः: Hetu/Pramana (Measure/प्रमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रमाणतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

• भूर्लोकात्: from Bhūloka (earth-world)
• भूर्लोकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूः (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूः-लोकः = भूर्लोकः)

• परिसंख्यातः: reckoned; computed
• परिसंख्यातः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि + संख्य (धातु) → परिसंख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वैकुण्ठस्य)

• कोटि-षोडश-संमितः: measured as sixteen crores
• कोटि-षोडश-संमितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + षोडश (संख्याशब्द) + संमित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (संख्यापरिमाणवाचकः)

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (Purāṇic audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vertical cosmic diagram: Bhūrloka below, ascending lokas, and above Satyaloka the luminous Vaikuṇṭha, rendered as a radiant, lotus-like city in the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Satyaloka
• Vaikuṇṭha
• Bhūrloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames devotion within a sacred cosmic map, reminding the listener that higher realms exist beyond the earthly plane and are governed by divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it supports the Kāśī narrative by situating Kāśī’s theology within a wider cosmic geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; the verse is descriptive (cosmological measurement), not prescriptive (vrata/dāna/snānā).