Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

आनर्त्तविषयं प्राप्य दैत्यभूमिं विवेश ह । निःस्वाध्यायवषट्कारां वेदध्वनिविवर्ज्जिताम्

Transliteration

ānarttaviṣayaṃ prāpya daityabhūmiṃ viveśa ha | niḥsvādhyāyavaṣaṭkārāṃ vedadhvanivivarjjitām

Translation

আনর্ত দেশে পৌঁছে তিনি দৈত্যশাসিত ভূমিতে প্রবেশ করলেন—যেখানে স্বাধ্যায় ও ‘বষট্’ ধ্বনি নেই, এবং বেদের ধ্বনি সম্পূর্ণ অনুপস্থিত।

Word by Word

• आनर्त्तविषयम्: the Ānarta region
• आनर्त्तविषयम्: Karma (Goal reached)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनर्त्त (प्रातिपदिक) + विषय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (आनर्त्तस्य विषयः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = masculine accusative singular

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √आप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त = gerund (having reached)

• दैत्यभूमिम्: the land of demons
• दैत्यभूमिम्: Karma (Object/goal entered)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दैत्यस्य भूमिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = feminine accusative singular

• विवेश: entered
• विवेश: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + √विश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्ण), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन = perfect, 3rd person singular

• ह: indeed/it is said
• ह: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: स्मरण/इतिहाससूचक-अव्यय (particle)

• निःस्वाध्यायवषट्काराम्: devoid of Vedic study and vaṣaṭ-calls
• निःस्वाध्यायवषट्काराम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + स्वाध्याय (प्रातिपदिक) + वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्/निः-पूर्वक-तत्पुरुष (स्वाध्यायश्च वषट्कारश्च न विद्येते यस्याम्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = feminine accusative singular (qualifying भूमिम्)

• वेदध्वनिविवर्ज्जिताम्: bereft of the sound of the Veda
• वेदध्वनिविवर्ज्जिताम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + ध्वनि (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्जित (√वर्ज् + क्त, कृदन्त)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वेदस्य ध्वनिः) + तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-समासान्त (वेदध्वनिना विवर्जिता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन = feminine accusative singular (qualifying भूमिम्)

Speaker

Deductive (Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; traditionally Sūta speaking to the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānarta-viṣaya (approach to Dvārakā tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied brāhmaṇa audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sage enters Ānarta and perceives a grim landscape: daitya banners, neglected altars, silent schools, no smoke of offerings, no chant—an oppressive quiet where Vedic sound should be.

Characters & Entities

• Ānarta
• Daitya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A society that abandons svādhyāya and Vedic rites is portrayed as drifting into adharma, highlighting the protective role of sacred sound and practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets the contrast: a daitya-land lacking Vedic dhvani, preparing the reader for the sanctity of the tīrtha encountered afterward.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it upholds svādhyāya and Vedic ritual utterances (like vaṣaṭ) as marks of dharma, though no single rite is commanded.