Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

सरितां पतयस्त्रिंशच्छंकवः सप्तसप्ततिः । महासरोजषष्टिश्च निखर्वाणां च विंशतिः

Transliteration

saritāṃ patayastriṃśacchaṃkavaḥ saptasaptatiḥ | mahāsarojaṣaṣṭiśca nikharvāṇāṃ ca viṃśatiḥ

Translation

ନଦୀମାନଙ୍କ ଅଧିପତି ତିରିଶ; ଶଙ୍କବ ସତସତ୍ତର; ମହାସରୋଜ ଷାଠି; ଏବଂ ନିଖର୍ବ ବିଶ ଥିଲେ।

Word by Word

• सरिताम्: of rivers
• सरिताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; English: Genitive plural ‘of rivers’

• पतयः: lords, masters
• पतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; English: Nominative plural

• त्रिंशत्: thirty
• त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Quantifier/संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्द), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्या; English: Numeral ‘thirty’ (nominative)

• शंकवः: stakes/pegs (śaṅkus)
• शंकवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; English: Nominative plural

• सप्तसप्ततिः: seventy-seven
• सप्तसप्ततिः: Visheshana (Quantifier/संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + सप्तति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (संख्यासमास) ‘सप्त अधिका सप्ततिः’ = 77; English: Numeral ‘seventy-seven’

• महासरोजषष्टिः: sixty great lotuses
• महासरोजषष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + सरोज (प्रातिपदिक) + षष्टि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘महासरोजानां षष्टिः’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); English: Nominative singular ‘sixty (of) great lotuses’

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

• निखर्वाणाम्: of nikharvas (a large numeral class)
• निखर्वाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निखर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; English: Genitive plural ‘of nikharvas’ (a large number/measure)

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

• विंशतिः: twenty
• विंशतिः: Visheshana (Quantifier/संख्या-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्या; English: Numeral ‘twenty’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic tableau of a divine assembly: thirty river-lords personified with water emblems, alongside groups named Śaṅkavas, Mahāsarojas, and Nikharvas arranged in distinct cohorts.

Characters & Entities

• Lords of rivers
• Śaṅkavas
• Mahāsarojas
• Nikharvas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha narratives portray the sacred realm as populated by vast orders of beings—suggesting pilgrimage space as cosmically significant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supports the tīrthamāhātmya atmosphere but does not name the site; it emphasizes the cosmic assembly associated with the sacred setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an enumerative description.