Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अपां वृद्धिक्षयो दृष्टः पक्षयोः शुक्लकृष्णयोः । ततो हेममयी भूमिर्दशकोट्यः कुरूद्वह

Transliteration

apāṃ vṛddhikṣayo dṛṣṭaḥ pakṣayoḥ śuklakṛṣṇayoḥ | tato hemamayī bhūmirdaśakoṭyaḥ kurūdvaha

Translation

ശുക്ല-കൃഷ്ണ പക്ഷങ്ങളിൽ ജലത്തിന്റെ വർദ്ധി-ക്ഷയം പ്രത്യക്ഷമായി കാണപ്പെടുന്നു. അതിനപ്പുറം, ഹേ കുരൂദ്വഹ, പത്ത് കോടി വ്യാപ്തിയുള്ള ഹേമമയമായ ഭൂമി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अपाम्: of waters
• अपाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• वृद्धिक्षयः: increase and decrease
• वृद्धिक्षयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्धि-क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (वृद्धिः च क्षयः च)

• दृष्टः: is observed
• दृष्टः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (भूतकर्मणि/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘दृष्टः’ = ‘seen/observed’

• पक्षयोः: in the two fortnights
• पक्षयोः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी/षष्ठी-द्विवचनरूपम्; अत्र सप्तमी (7th/Locative) द्विवचन—‘in the two fortnights’

• शुक्लकृष्णयोः: (in) the bright and dark (fortnights)
• शुक्लकृष्णयोः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुक्ल-कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (शुक्लः च कृष्णः च) विशेषणम् (पक्षयोः)

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—अपादान/क्रमबोधक (adverb: ‘then/from that’)

• हेममयी: made of gold
• हेममयी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेम-मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (हेमेन मयी = made of gold)

• भूमिः: the earth/land
• भूमिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• दशकोट्यः: ten crores (in number)
• दशकोट्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश-कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्विगुः (दश कोट्यः)

• कुरूद्वह: O best of the Kurus
• कुरूद्वह: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरूद्वह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कुरूणां द्वहः/श्रेष्ठः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hemamayī Bhūmi (outer golden region; cosmographic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kuru-śreṣṭha/Kurūd-vaha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shoreline where the sea visibly rises and falls under a large moon split into bright and dark halves; beyond the waters, a radiant golden land stretches to the horizon, shimmering like molten metal.

Characters & Entities

• Kuru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order (ṛta) is reflected in time-cycles; even nature’s rhythms are governed by dharma-like regularity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised in this verse; it belongs to a broader purāṇic map of the cosmos.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive (cosmography), not a vrata or dāna instruction.