Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 130

Devanagari script

द्वासप्ततिस्तथा लक्षा ग्रामा गाजणके स्मृताः । अष्टादश तथा लक्षा ग्रामाणां गौडदेशके

Transliteration

dvāsaptatistathā lakṣā grāmā gājaṇake smṛtāḥ | aṣṭādaśa tathā lakṣā grāmāṇāṃ gauḍadeśake

Translation

ഗാജണകത്തിൽ ഗ്രാമങ്ങൾ എഴുപത്തിരണ്ട് ലക്ഷം എന്നു സ്മൃതിയിൽ പറയപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. അതുപോലെ ഗൗഡദേശത്തിൽ ഗ്രാമങ്ങൾ പതിനെട്ട് ലക്ഷം എന്നും പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• dvā-saptatiḥ: seventy-two
• dvā-saptatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक) + saptati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• tathā: also/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वयार्थक (also/likewise)

• lakṣāḥ: lakhs (hundred-thousands)
• lakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

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

• gājaṇake: in Gājaṇaka (region)
• gājaṇake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gājaṇaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; देश/प्रदेशवाचक

• smṛtāḥ: are stated/are remembered
• smṛtāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘are said/are remembered’

• aṣṭādaśa: eighteen
• aṣṭādaśa: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + daśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचन-प्रायः (संख्यावाचक)

• tathā: also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वयार्थक

• lakṣāḥ: lakhs
• lakṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• grāmāṇām: of villages
• grāmāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• gauḍa-deśake: in the Gauḍa country
• gauḍa-deśake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gauḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + deśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gauḍasya deśaḥ)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-narrator recites a sacred map: stylized India as a mandala with Gauḍa highlighted, surrounded by innumerable tiny village icons, rivers, and temple spires; palm-leaf manuscript and counting beads suggest enumeration.

Characters & Entities

• Gājaṇaka (region)
• Gauḍadeśa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Traditional enumeration reinforces the Purāṇic vision of Bhārata and adjoining lands as a sacredly ordered whole.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; these are regional references within a broader listing.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.