Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

दश द्वादशसंख्या वा प्राणायामाः कृता यदि । नियम्य मानसं तेन तदा तप्तं महत्तपः

Transliteration

daśa dvādaśasaṃkhyā vā prāṇāyāmāḥ kṛtā yadi | niyamya mānasaṃ tena tadā taptaṃ mahattapaḥ

Translation

إذا أتى المرءُ بتمارين ضبط النَّفَس (برانايا̄ما) عشرَ مراتٍ أو اثنتي عشرةَ مرة، وبذلك روّضَ الذهنَ، فقد باشر حقًّا تَپَسًا عظيمًا (زهدًا وتقشّفًا روحيًّا).

Word by Word

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; प्रायः विशेषणरूपेण (indeclinable-like numeral), प्राणायामान् विशेषयति

• dvādaśa-saṃkhyā: (being) of the number twelve
• dvādaśa-saṃkhyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘द्वादशसंख्या’ = द्वादश संख्या यस्य/या (twelve in number)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: ‘or’)

• prāṇāyāmāḥ: breath-restraints (prāṇāyāmas)
• prāṇāyāmāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇāyāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• kṛtāḥ: performed
• kṛtāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘कृताः’ = done/performed

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle: ‘if’)

• niyamya: having restrained
• niyamya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√yam (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘नियम्य’ = having restrained

• mānasaṃ: the mind
• mānasaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tena: by that / thereby
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (by/through that)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: ‘then’)

• taptaṃ: undertaken / performed (as austerity)
• taptaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tap (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तप्तम्’ = heated/undertaken (as tapas)

• mahat-tapaḥ: great austerity
• mahat-tapaḥ: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/प्रधान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक) + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘महच्च तत् तपः’

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa narrative voice; instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king) implied by surrounding address in the passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest hermitage at dawn: a sādhaka seated in padmāsana, spine erect, eyes half-closed, counting breaths on fingers; calm aura suggesting ‘mahattapas’ arising from mind-control.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Breath-discipline that steadies the mind is itself counted as great tapas (austerity).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches general dharma within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform prāṇāyāma in a set count—ten or twelve repetitions—to restrain the mind.