Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

विभक्तं सप्तभिः खण्डैः स्कान्दं भाग्यवतां वर । तदेकाशीतिसाहस्रं संख्यया वै निरूपितम्

Transliteration

vibhaktaṃ saptabhiḥ khaṇḍaiḥ skāndaṃ bhāgyavatāṃ vara | tadekāśītisāhasraṃ saṃkhyayā vai nirūpitam

Translation

اے خوش نصیبوں میں برتر! اسکانْد پُران سات کھنڈوں میں تقسیم ہے۔ اس کی مقدار واقعی تعداد کے اعتبار سے اکیاسی ہزار شلوک مقرر کی گئی ہے۔

Word by Word

• vibhaktam: divided
• vibhaktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√bhaj (भज्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘स्कान्दम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• saptabhiḥ: by seven
• saptabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘खण्डैः’ इति विशेषणम्

• khaṇḍaiḥ: sections/parts
• khaṇḍaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• skāndam: the Skānda (Purāṇa)
• skāndam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skānda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (पुराणनाम)

• bhāgyavatām: of the fortunate
• bhāgyavatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgyavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (समूह/जन), षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘वर’ इत्यस्य षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः

• vara: O best (one)
• vara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• tat-ekāśīti-sāhasram: that (is) eighty-one thousand
• tat-ekāśīti-sāhasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ekāśīti (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (तत् + ८१-सहस्रम्)

• saṃkhyayā: by count/number
• saṃkhyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• nirūpitam: has been specified/stated
• nirūpitam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√rūp (रूप्/रूपय्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (it has been stated/defined)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti), addressing Śaunaka and the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Skanda Purāṇa (as tīrtha-grantha / yātrā-mārga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhāgyavatāṃ vara (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary map-like tableau: seven panels or mandala petals labeled as the seven khaṇḍas, each showing a signature sacred landscape (mountain, river, temple city, sea-shore), while a narrator proclaims the Skanda’s vast extent (81,000).

Characters & Entities

• Skanda Purāṇa (Skānda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Skanda Purāṇa is presented as a vast, systematically organized dharma-text—its division into khaṇḍas supports comprehensive teaching of sacred places and conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse identifies the Skanda Purāṇa itself as a multi-khaṇḍa framework that houses numerous tīrtha-māhātmyas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse states the Skanda Purāṇa’s structural division and total verse-count.