Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

अशीतिश्च सहस्राणि पूर्वपश्चायतं स्मृतम् । उत्तरे हिमवानस्ति क्षीरोदो दक्षिणे स्मृतः

Transliteration

aśītiśca sahasrāṇi pūrvapaścāyataṃ smṛtam | uttare himavānasti kṣīrodo dakṣiṇe smṛtaḥ

Translation

കിഴക്കിൽ നിന്ന് പടിഞ്ഞാറുവരെ അതിന്റെ വ്യാപ്തി എൺപതിനായിരം (യോജന) എന്നു സ്മൃതമാണ്. വടക്കിൽ ഹിമവാൻ ഉണ്ട്; തെക്കിൽ ക്ഷീരോദ (സമുദ്രം) സ്മൃതമാണ്.

Word by Word

• aśītiḥ: eighty
• aśītiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular); saṅkhyā-śabda (numeral)

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

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• pūrva-paścāt-āyatam: extended from east to west
• pūrva-paścāt-āyatam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + paścāt (अव्यय) + āyata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular); avyayībhāva-samāsa (directional adverbial compound) used adjectivally

• smṛtam: is said/remembered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Bhūta-kṛdanta (past passive participle), Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; karmaṇi-prayoga sense ‘is said/considered’

• uttare: in the north
• uttare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.)/or Adhikaraṇa usage; Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• himavān: Himavān (the Himalaya)
• himavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (Singular)

• kṣīrodaḥ: Kṣīroda (the Milk Ocean)
• kṣīrodaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīroda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• dakṣiṇe: in the south
• dakṣiṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.)/or Adhikaraṇa usage; Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• smṛtaḥ: is said/remembered
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Bhūta-kṛdanta (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; karmaṇi-prayoga sense ‘is said/remembered’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred map: Bhārata stretched east–west, crowned by the snowy Himavān to the north and bordered by a luminous ‘milk-ocean’ to the south; divine narration overlays the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Himavān
• Kṣīroda
• Bhārata-varṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text sacralizes the land by mapping it within a cosmic order—mountain and ocean boundaries become part of a dharmic worldview.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse supports the sanctity of Bhārata’s landscape, within which Prabhāsa is later praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.