Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 145

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशशते द्वे च विंशतिः कच्छमंडलम् । पंचपंचाशत्सहस्रं ग्रामाः सौराष्ट्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

caturdaśaśate dve ca viṃśatiḥ kacchamaṃḍalam | paṃcapaṃcāśatsahasraṃ grāmāḥ saurāṣṭramucyate

Translation

கச்சமண்டலத்தில் ஆயிரத்து நானூற்று இருபது கிராமங்கள் எனச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது; சௌராஷ்டிரம் ஐம்பத்தைந்து ஆயிரம் கிராமங்களின் தேசமாகப் புகழப்படுகிறது.

Word by Word

• चतुर्दशशते: in fourteen hundreds (i.e., 1400)
• चतुर्दशशते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश-शत (प्रातिपदिक; समास: चतुर्दश + शत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative) — 'in fourteen hundreds'

• द्वे: two
• द्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), द्विवचन; संख्या

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

• विंशतिः: twenty
• विंशतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संख्या

• कच्छमंडलम्: the Kaccha region/district
• कच्छमंडलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कच्छ-मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक; समास: कच्छ + मण्डल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नाम (place-name)

• पंचपंचाशत्सहस्रम्: fifty-five thousand
• पंचपंचाशत्सहस्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च-पञ्चाशत्-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास: पञ्च + पञ्चाशत् + सहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संख्या — 'fifty-five thousand'

• ग्रामाः: villages
• ग्रामाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; गण्यमान वस्तु (counted items)

• सौराष्ट्रम्: Saurāṣṭra
• सौराष्ट्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौराष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नाम (region-name)

• उच्यते: is said/called
• उच्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kacchamaṇḍala; Saurāṣṭra-maṇḍala (regional frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha/Arjuna (explicitly addressed in nearby verses of this run)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bard-sage narrates a ‘map in words’: Kaccha and Saurāṣṭra shown as broad lands dotted with innumerable villages, wells, tanks, and temple flags; a pilgrim route line threads through them.

Characters & Entities

• Kaccha
• Kacchamaṇḍala
• Saurāṣṭra
• grāma (villages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse situates devotion within a lived landscape—regions, peoples, and settlements become part of the Purāṇa’s sacred map.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single tīrtha; the regions of Kaccha and Saurāṣṭra are referenced within a broader māhātmya-style geographic catalog.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is mentioned in this passage.