Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

आदौ त्रेतायुगे राजन्वर्षाणामयुतत्रयम् । मध्येवनं तपस्यंतमशोकतरुमूलगम्

Transliteration

ādau tretāyuge rājanvarṣāṇāmayutatrayam | madhyevanaṃ tapasyaṃtamaśokatarumūlagam

Translation

في مطلع عصر تريتا، أيها الملك، مكث ثلاثين ألف سنة يمارس التقشّف في قلب الغابة، جالسًا عند أصل شجرة الأشوكا.

Word by Word

• आदौ: at first
• आदौ: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभूतम्; कालवाचक (locative used adverbially: ‘in the beginning’)

• त्रेतायुगे: in the Tretā age
• त्रेतायुगे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (त्रेतायाः युगम्)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• वर्षाणाम्: of years
• वर्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अयुतत्रयम्: three myriads (30,000)
• अयुतत्रयम्: Karma (Measure/कर्म-परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि अयुतानि = 30,000)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभूतम्; देश/अवधि-वाचक (in the middle)

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; गत्यर्थे कर्म (to/into the forest)

• तपस्यन्तम्: doing penance
• तपस्यन्तम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् + य (धातु: तपस्-य/तपस्य)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (धर्मराजम्—अध्याहृतम्)

• अशोकतरुमूलगम्: situated at the root of an aśoka tree
• अशोकतरुमूलगम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशोक + तरु + मूल + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुषः (अशोक-तरु-मूलं गच्छति/आश्रयति इति ‘मूलग’)

Speaker

Vyāsa (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśoka-mūla-sthāna in Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśārdūla (a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a primeval Tretā-yuga forest, Dharmarāja sits immovable beneath a flowering Aśoka tree; time is suggested by layered seasons and fading daylight cycles around him.

Characters & Entities

• Tretāyuga
• Aśoka tree
• Dharmarāja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Enduring, time-tested tapas in solitude sanctifies a landscape and turns wilderness into sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya’s forest setting is being prepared as the sacred backdrop for its later tīrtha-glory.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas performed in a fixed seat (niyama) at a sacred tree-root is implied, though not detailed as a formal rite.