Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अद्य वै द्वादश समाः शून्यागारमनाथवत् । यस्माच्च दीर्घिकायां मे स्नानदानोद्यतो जनः

Transliteration

adya vai dvādaśa samāḥ śūnyāgāramanāthavat | yasmācca dīrghikāyāṃ me snānadānodyato janaḥ

Translation

اليوم تمّت اثنتا عشرة سنة وهذا الموضع كبيتٍ خالٍ، كأنه بلا حامٍ ولا ناصر؛ لأن الناس الذين كانوا يأتون إلى بركتي الطويلة قاصدين الاغتسال والتصدّق لم يعودوا يجيئون.

Word by Word

• adya: today, now
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

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

• dvādaśa: twelve
• dvādaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; (अव्ययवत्/अविकारी) प्रथमा (1st) बहुवचनार्थे; विशेषण (of samāḥ)

• samāḥ: years
• samāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (in nominal sentence)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘वर्ष’ अर्थे

• śūnyāgāram: an empty house
• śūnyāgāram: Karma/Predicate complement (सम्प्रदान/विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūnya + āgāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (शून्यम् आगारम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; here as predicate-noun with implied ‘asti’

• anāthavat: like one without a protector
• anāthavat: Upamāna (Simile marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anātha + vat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वत्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययवत् उपमानवाचक (like/as)

• yasmāt: from which, because of which
• yasmāt: Apādāna/Hetu (Cause/Source/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध/हेतु (from which/because)

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

• dīrghikāyām: in the pond/tank
• dīrghikāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīrghikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• snānadānodyataḥ: intent on bathing and giving (charity)
• snānadānodyataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snāna + dāna + udyata (प्रातिपदिक; ud-√yam (धातु) → udyata)
• Form: द्वन्द्व (snāna-dāna) + तत्पुरुष (udyataḥ = तत्परः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (of janaḥ)

• janaḥ: a person, people (collectively)
• janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Dharmāraṇya-kṣetra Adhidevatā (the presiding deity of Dharmāraṇya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dīrghikā

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rāma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A long, neglected tank with broken steps, no pilgrims, no lamps; a lone caretaker-like figure lamenting; the sense of twelve years passing shown by overgrowth and silence.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmāraṇya
• Dīrghikā (sacred tank/pond)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha thrives through snāna and dāna; when fear stops pilgrims, the sacred ecosystem declines.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dīrghikā (long sacred pond) of Dharmāraṇya-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) and dāna (charitable giving) at the Dīrghikā.