Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

लक्षयोजनविस्तारं जंबूद्वीपं प्रकीर्त्यते । सूर्यबिंबसमाकारं तावत्क्षारार्णवावृतम्

Transliteration

lakṣayojanavistāraṃ jaṃbūdvīpaṃ prakīrtyate | sūryabiṃbasamākāraṃ tāvatkṣārārṇavāvṛtam

Translation

جمبودویپ کو ایک لاکھ یوجن تک پھیلا ہوا کہا گیا ہے۔ وہ سورج کے قرص کی مانند ہے اور اتنی ہی حد تک نمکین سمندر سے گھرا ہوا ہے۔

Word by Word

• lakṣa-yojana-vistāram: having an extent of one lakh yojanas
• lakṣa-yojana-vistāram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + yojana (प्रातिपदिक) + vistāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (lakṣa-yojanānāṃ vistāraḥ)

• jaṃbū-dvīpam: Jambūdvīpa
• jaṃbū-dvīpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃbū (प्रातिपदिक) + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (jaṃbūnāma dvīpaḥ)

• prakīrtyate: is proclaimed/said
• prakīrtyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kīrt (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• sūrya-biṃba-samākāram: having the shape of the sun’s disk
• sūrya-biṃba-samākāram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + biṃba (प्रातिपदिक) + samākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (sūryasya biṃbasya samākāraḥ)

• tāvat: of that extent/so much
• tāvat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्राय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (quantitative)

• kṣāra-arṇava-āvṛtam: surrounded by the salt ocean
• kṣāra-arṇava-āvṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣāra (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक) + ā-√vṛ (धातु) → āvṛta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (kṣārārṇavena āvṛtam)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jambūdvīpa (cosmic kṣetra) / Kṣārārṇava (salt ocean)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circular sun-disc-like continent (Jambūdvīpa) shown as a radiant mandala, ringed by a broad band of salt ocean; subtle directional markers and concentric symmetry.

Characters & Entities

• Jambūdvīpa
• Kṣārārṇava (salt ocean)
• Sūrya (sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation is depicted as measured and harmonious; contemplating cosmic order supports reverence for the divine intelligence governing all realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single pilgrimage site is specified; Jambūdvīpa is the cosmographic stage on which many tīrthas are later situated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse provides a descriptive cosmological measure and boundary.