Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तद्रुद्धं कंटकैर्वृक्षैः सिंहव्याघ्रसमाकुलैः । संचिक्रीडुः कुमाराश्च यस्यां भूमौ निरंतरम्

Transliteration

tadruddhaṃ kaṃṭakairvṛkṣaiḥ siṃhavyāghrasamākulaiḥ | saṃcikrīḍuḥ kumārāśca yasyāṃ bhūmau niraṃtaram

Translation

Jene Gegend war von dornigen Bäumen verstopft und von Löwen und Tigern wimmelnd; dennoch streiften dort die Knaben unablässig umher und spielten auf jenem Boden.

Word by Word

• tat: that (place/area)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• ruddham: blocked/obstructed
• ruddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rudh (धातु) → ruddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (past passive participle; neuter nom/acc sg)

• kaṇṭakaiḥ: by thorns
• kaṇṭakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṇṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (masculine, instrumental plural)

• vṛkṣaiḥ: by trees
• vṛkṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (masculine, instrumental plural)

• siṃha-vyāghra-samākulaiḥ: by (things) crowded with lions and tigers
• siṃha-vyāghra-samākulaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siṃha (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक) + samākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (siṃha-vyāghra-), विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (masculine, instrumental plural)

• saṃcikrīḍuḥ: played about
• saṃcikrīḍuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (perfect; 3rd person plural, parasmaipada)

• kumārāḥ: boys/princes
• kumārāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

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

• yasyām: in which
• yasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (feminine, locative singular)

• bhūmau: on the ground/land
• bhūmau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (feminine, locative singular)

• nirantaram: continuously
• nirantaram: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nirantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (contextual description to Rāma)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A thorn-choked forest clearing with lions and tigers at the edges, while boys play unafraid in the center, suggesting an unseen protective aura of the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• lions
• tigers

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma-centered habitation declines, even a once-protected sacred region can appear overrun by hardship—prompting renewal and protection of sacred space.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (the ‘Forest of Dharma’) within the Brāhma Khaṇḍa’s Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive, setting the scene for later dharmic action.