Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

यथा पार्थिवधातूनां दह्यते धमनान्मलाः । तथेंद्रियैः कृता दोषा ज्वाल्यंते प्राणसंयमात्

Transliteration

yathā pārthivadhātūnāṃ dahyate dhamanānmalāḥ | tatheṃdriyaiḥ kṛtā doṣā jvālyaṃte prāṇasaṃyamāt

Translation

Wie die Unreinheiten irdischer Metalle im Schmelzofen verbrannt werden, so werden auch die durch die Sinne entstandenen Fehler durch die Zügelung des Atems entflammt und vernichtet.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative: ‘just as’)

• pārthiva-dhātūnām: of the earthly elements
• pārthiva-dhātūnām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक) + dhātu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘पार्थिवानां धातूनाम्’ (of earthly elements/constituents)

• dahyate: is burned
• dahyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (is burned)

• dhamanāt: by blowing (fanning)
• dhamanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (from/by blowing)

• malāḥ: impurities
• malāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tathā: so / likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यतावाचक-अव्यय (so/likewise)

• indriyaiḥ: by the senses
• indriyaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; करणार्थे (by the senses)

• kṛtāḥ: committed
• kṛtāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘कृताः’ = done/committed

• doṣāḥ: faults / sins
• doṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• jvālyante: are burned up
• jvālyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jval (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद; णिजन्त-कर्मणि/भावे (are made to blaze/are burned up)

• prāṇa-saṃyamāt: from breath-control
• prāṇa-saṃyamāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (from/through restraint of breath)

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa narrative voice; instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Split-scene metaphor: on one side a smith’s furnace refining metal; on the other a yogin with a subtle inner flame at nābhi/hṛdaya, senses depicted as subdued animals, signifying doṣa being burned.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prāṇāyāma is portrayed as an inner fire that purifies sensory-born defects.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified; the verse uses a general purification metaphor.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Practice prāṇa-saṃyama (breath restraint) to burn away दोष arising from the senses.