Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

एवं वै वर्तमानेऽस्मिंल्लोके तु नृपपुंगव । ऋषीणां दशकोट्यस्तु कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्

Transliteration

evaṃ vai vartamāne'smiṃlloke tu nṛpapuṃgava | ṛṣīṇāṃ daśakoṭyastu kurukṣetranivāsinām

Translation

Demikianlah, selagi dunia ini terus berlangsung sebagaimana adanya, wahai raja yang paling utama, dikatakan bahawa terdapat sepuluh krore para ṛṣi yang menetap di Kurukṣetra.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘एवम्’ = thus

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): emphasis/indeed

• वर्तमाने: existing, present
• वर्तमाने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्तमान (कृदन्त; √वृत् (धातु))
• Form: वर्तमान-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present participle active); नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे?—अत्र ‘अस्मिन् लोके’ इति सापेक्षे सति सप्तमी एकवचनम् (Locative singular)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• लोके: world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): but/indeed

• नृपपुंगव: O best of kings
• नृपपुंगव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + पुंगव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग; तत्पुरुष-समास (नृपाणां पुंगवः)

• ऋषीणाम्: of sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (plural)

• दशकोट्यः: ten crores
• दशकोट्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (दश कोटयः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): and/but (contrast/emphasis)

• कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्: of the residents of Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रनिवासिनाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कुरुक्षेत्रे निवासिनः); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages; addressed listener within narrative: a king (nṛpa-puṃgava)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpapuṅgava / nṛpasattama (the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast dharmakṣetra plain shimmering with ascetic fires; innumerable ṛṣis seated in clusters, matted hair and deer-skins, reciting Veda; distant sacrificial altars and a faint river-line on the horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Kurukṣetra
• Ṛṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa maps a living sacred world, populated by sages; tīrthas are portrayed as enduring spiritual ecosystems.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra is explicitly mentioned as a major sacred field inhabited by vast numbers of ṛṣis.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse provides a sacred-geographical assertion about Kurukṣetra’s resident sages.