Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

चतुर्थांशा च तद्वृद्धिर्यावन्मेरुः प्रकीर्तितः

Transliteration

caturthāṃśā ca tadvṛddhiryāvanmeruḥ prakīrtitaḥ

Translation

അതിന്റെ വർദ്ധന ക്രമമായി ഓരോ ഘട്ടത്തിലും ചതുർത്ഥാംശം വീതം എന്നു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു; ‘മേരു’വരെ അങ്ങനെ പ്രഖ്യാതമാണ്.

Word by Word

• चतुर्थांशा: a fourth part
• चतुर्थांशा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (चतुर्थस्य अंशः/भागः)

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

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वृद्धिः: increase/growth
• वृद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यावत्: up to/as far as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Limit/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक (correlative: as far as/up to)

• मेरुः: Meru
• मेरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रकीर्तितः: is proclaimed/mentioned
• प्रकीर्तितः: Vidhaya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु) + क्त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अर्थः: ‘प्रशंसितः/उक्तः’ (proclaimed/mentioned)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Meru-prāsāda scale within Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic-like sacred plan showing successive prāsādas increasing by one-quarter in size or grandeur, culminating in the towering Meru-prāsāda; pilgrims move along a widening path toward the center.

Characters & Entities

• Meru (prāsāda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred order includes proportion and gradation—devotional space is structured, reflecting cosmic harmony rather than randomness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Someśvara Meru-prāsāda complex in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, described with proportional scaling.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it indicates architectural proportion (a quarter-based increase) within the sacred complex.