Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तच्चाष्टलक्षमानेन वत्सराणां प्रकीर्तितम् । चतुःषष्टिभिरन्यैस्तु सहस्राणां द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

taccāṣṭalakṣamānena vatsarāṇāṃ prakīrtitam | catuḥṣaṣṭibhiranyaistu sahasrāṇāṃ dvijottamāḥ

Translation

അത് (ദ്വാപരയുഗം) എട്ട് ലക്ഷം വർഷങ്ങളുടെ അളവെന്ന് പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു; കൂടാതെ മറ്റൊരു അറുപത്തിനാലായിരം (കൂടി) ചേർന്ന്, ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ.

Word by Word

• tat: that (thing/measure)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

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

• aṣṭa: eight
• aṣṭa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (indeclinable-like in compounds)

• lakṣa-mānena: by the measure of a lakh
• lakṣa-mānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (lakṣasya mānam)

• vatsarāṇām: of years
• vatsarāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• prakīrtitam: has been declared/proclaimed
• prakīrtitam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kīrt (कीर्त्, धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• catuḥṣaṣṭibhiḥ: with sixty-four
• catuḥṣaṣṭibhiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catuḥṣaṣṭi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याविशेषण, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; (सह) प्रयोगे साधन/सहकारक

• anyaiḥ: with other
• anyaiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• sahasrāṇām: of thousands
• sahasrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• dvijottamāḥ: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijottamāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः (dvijāḥ uttamāḥ)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijo-ttamāḥ (addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage enumerates ‘eight lakhs and sixty-four thousand’ with counting beads; behind him a segmented time-wheel labeled Dvāpara; disciples listen attentively.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By giving precise yuga measures, the text situates dharma-teachings within an ordered cosmic rhythm rather than random history.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.