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

ਪੂਰਬ ਤੋਂ ਪੱਛਮ ਤੱਕ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਚੌੜਾਈ ਅੱਸੀ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਯੋਜਨ ਕਹੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ। ਉੱਤਰ ਵੱਲ ਹਿਮਵਾਨ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਦੱਖਣ ਵੱਲ ਖੀਰੋਦ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਮੰਨਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ।

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.