Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तत्रैव भूतवेताला प्रेताः नृत्यंति मोहिताः । नृपा यत्र सभायां तु न्यषीदन्मंत्रतत्पराः

Transliteration

tatraiva bhūtavetālā pretāḥ nṛtyaṃti mohitāḥ | nṛpā yatra sabhāyāṃ tu nyaṣīdanmaṃtratatparāḥ

Translation

There itself, ghosts, vetālas, and pretas—bewildered—would dance about; while in that place the kings sat in the assembly, intent upon counsel and deliberation.

Word by Word

• tatraiva: right there
• tatraiva: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय) + eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-समुच्चय (locative adverb + emphatic particle)

• bhūta-vetālāḥ: ghosts and vetālas
• bhūta-vetālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + vetāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (भूताश्च वेतालाश्च), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masc nom pl)

• pretāḥ: spirits/pretas
• pretāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• nṛtyanti: dance
• nṛtyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (present; 3rd person plural)

• mohitāḥ: bewildered/enchanted
• mohitāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: muh (धातु) → mohita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masc nom pl)

• nṛpāḥ: kings
• nṛpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (where)

• sabhāyām: in the assembly hall
• sabhāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (feminine, locative singular)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• nyaṣīdan: sat down
• nyaṣīdan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sad (धातु) उपसर्ग: ni-
• Form: लङ् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; रूपम्: न्यषीदन् (imperfect; 3rd person plural)

• mantra-tatparāḥ: intent on counsel/consultation
• mantra-tatparāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + tatpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मन्त्रे तत्पर), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masc nom pl)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (contextual description to Rāma)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two simultaneous tableaux: in a shadowed grove, ghosts and vetālas dance in eerie fascination; nearby, in a lit royal hall, kings sit composed in council, absorbed in deliberation—order beside the uncanny.

Characters & Entities

• bhūta
• vetāla
• preta
• kings
• sabhā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A place can hold both unsettling forces and dharmic governance; rāja-dharma requires steadiness even amid fear and disorder.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya, described as having an assembly hall where rulers engaged in deliberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is on the setting—spirit activity contrasted with royal counsel.