Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

नारद उवाच । धर्मारण्यस्य माहात्म्यं यच्छ्रुतं त्वन्मुखांबुजात् । धर्मवाप्यां यत्र धर्म्मस्तपस्तेपे सुदुष्कुरम्

Transliteration

nārada uvāca | dharmāraṇyasya māhātmyaṃ yacchrutaṃ tvanmukhāṃbujāt | dharmavāpyāṃ yatra dharmmastapastepe suduṣkuram

Translation

Nārada sprach: Die Größe Dharmāraṇyas, die ich aus deinem lotusgleichen Mund vernommen habe—dort, bei Dharmavāpī, vollzog Dharma eine überaus schwere Askese (tapas).

Word by Word

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (Speaker/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• धर्मारण्यस्य: of Dharmāraṇya
• धर्मारण्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + अरण्य (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• माहात्म्यम्: glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Correlative object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बन्धे—यत्...तत् (implicit)

• श्रुतम्: heard
• श्रुतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रु (धातु) क्त (कृदन्त) → श्रुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषणम्—माहात्म्यम्

• त्वत्: your
• त्वत्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular) (enclitic stem त्वत्-)

• मुखाम्बुजात्: from (your) lotus-mouth
• मुखाम्बुजात्: Apadana (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख + अम्बुज (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• धर्मवाप्याम्: in Dharmavāpī (the sacred pond)
• धर्मवाप्याम्: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + वापी (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb of place)

• धर्मः: Dharma (personified)
• धर्मः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तेपे: performed (austerity)
• तेपे: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• सुदुष्कुरम्: very difficult
• सुदुष्कुरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + दुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम्—तपः

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmavāpī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā (implied by ‘tvad-mukhāmbujāt’—heard from your lotus-mouth)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada, with vīṇā, speaks reverently to Brahmā (or the prior speaker), recalling what he heard; the scene shifts to Dharmavāpī: a sacred stepwell/pond where the personified Dharma sits in intense austerity, surrounded by a quiet forest and hovering devas witnessing the difficult tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Dharmāraṇya
• Dharmavāpī
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are sanctified by intense tapas; remembering such austerities deepens faith in the kṣetra’s purifying power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya, specifically the tīrtha called Dharmavāpī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse introduces Dharmavāpī as a tapas-associated tīrtha within Dharmāraṇya.