Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि धर्मारण्यनिवासिना । यत्कार्यं पुरुषेणेह गार्हस्थ्यमनुतिष्ठता

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi dharmāraṇyanivāsinā | yatkāryaṃ puruṣeṇeha gārhasthyamanutiṣṭhatā

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: Als Nächstes werde ich darlegen, was hier von einem Mann zu tun ist, der in Dharmāraṇya wohnt und dabei ordnungsgemäß den Lebensweg des Haushälters (gṛhastha) ausübt.

Word by Word

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ataḥ: thereafter, therefore
• ataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/अनन्तरार्थक (therefore/thereafter)

• param: further, next
• param: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (as adverb: further)

• pravakṣyāmi: I shall explain
• pravakṣyāmi: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (simple future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• dharma-āraṇya-nivāsinā: by/with the dweller in Dharmāraṇya
• dharma-āraṇya-nivāsinā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + āraṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + nivāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (dharma-āraṇye nivāsī)

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• kāryam: duty, what is to be done
• kāryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• puruṣeṇa: by a man
• puruṣeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; कर्तृ-करणभाव (by a man)

• iha: here (in this world)
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• gārhasthyam: householder’s stage/duties
• gārhasthyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gārhasthya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; आश्रम-नाम

• anutiṣṭhatā: by one who is practicing/observing
• anutiṣṭhatā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu + √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; वर्तमानकर्तरि (present active participle: ‘while practicing’)

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (implied by immediate continuation in 5.4; the dialogue frame is Mahābhārata-like)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa seated in an āśrama or forest hermitage, addressing an attentive royal listener; the setting suggests Dharmāraṇya—trees, sacrificial fire, water-pot, and palm-leaf manuscripts—signaling the start of a prescriptive section.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Dharmāraṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is to be lived practically—especially through the disciplined conduct of the householder.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is highlighted as a sanctified region where dharmic living is taught and practiced.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite is specified here; the verse introduces forthcoming rules of conduct for the gṛhastha (householder).