Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 113

Devanagari script

महेन्द्रपरतश्चैव इन्द्रद्वीपो निगद्यते । पारियात्रस्य चैवार्वाक्खण्डं कौमारिकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

mahendraparataścaiva indradvīpo nigadyate | pāriyātrasya caivārvākkhaṇḍaṃ kaumārikaṃ smṛtam

Translation

മഹേന്ദ്ര പർവ്വതത്തിന്റെ പടിഞ്ഞാറ് ‘ഇന്ദ്രദ്വീപം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു; പാരിയാത്ര ശ്രേണിയുടെ വടക്കുള്ള പ്രദേശം ‘കൗമാരിക ഖണ്ഡം’ എന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• mahendra-parataḥ: beyond/from Mahendra
• mahendra-parataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mahendra (प्रातिपदिक) + parataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; दिशावाचक-अव्यय (from/beyond Mahendra)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• indra-dvīpaḥ: Indradvīpa
• indra-dvīpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (indrasya dvīpaḥ)

• nigadyate: is called/said
• nigadyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√gad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• pāriyātrasya: of Pāriyātra
• pāriyātrasya: Sampradāna-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāriyātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• arvāk: on this side of / nearer than
• arvāk: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: arvāk (अव्यय)
• Form: दिशावाचक-अव्यय (towards this side/southward/nearer)

• khaṇḍam: a region/section
• khaṇḍam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन

• kaumārikam: Kaumārika
• kaumārikam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaumārika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; विशेषण

• smṛtam: is known/considered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; ‘considered/known’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kaumārikā-khaṇḍa (regional mahatmya frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Phālguna (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cartographic scene: Mahendra mountain on one side, an oceanic ‘dvīpa’ labeled Indradvīpa to its west; Pāriyātra range below with an arrow pointing north to a highlighted tract labeled ‘Kaumārikā-khaṇḍa’.

Characters & Entities

• Mahendra
• Indradvīpa
• Pāriyātra
• Kaumārikākhaṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is presented as dharmic knowledge: knowing the holy divisions of the earth supports pilgrimage, remembrance, and reverence for tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised directly; the verse identifies regions—Indradvīpa and the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa—within a sacred geographical map.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is primarily classificatory (naming and locating regions).