Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

चतुष्का यज्ञवेदिर्हि सोच्छ्राया ह्यभवत्पुरा । तेऽत्र वल्मीकनिचयैर्दृश्यंते परिवेष्टिताः

Transliteration

catuṣkā yajñavedirhi socchrāyā hyabhavatpurā | te'tra valmīkanicayairdṛśyaṃte pariveṣṭitāḥ

Translation

Formerly, the four-cornered sacrificial altars (yajña-vedī) stood here, raised up and prominent; now they are seen here encircled by heaps of anthills.

Word by Word

• चतुष्काः: fourfold/four (in number)
• चतुष्काः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (यज्ञवेदिः-विशेषण), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यज्ञवेदिः: sacrificial altar
• यज्ञवेदिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ + वेदि (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• स-उच्छ्राया: lofty/raised
• स-उच्छ्राया: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + उच्छ्राय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); 'उच्छ्राया' = उच्छ्राय-शब्दस्य स्त्री प्रथमा एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• अभवत्: was/became
• अभवत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (adverb of time: formerly)

• ते: those (altars)
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (यज्ञवेदि-परामर्श), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• वल्मीकनिचयैः: by heaps of anthills
• वल्मीकनिचयैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वल्मीक + निचय (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• दृश्यन्ते: are seen
• दृश्यन्ते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• परिवेष्टिताः: surrounded/encircled
• परिवेष्टिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-√वेष्ट् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे (ते=यज्ञवेदयः) प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (contextual description to Rāma)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rāma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ruined yajña-ground: faint square outlines of four-cornered altars, once raised, now ringed and swallowed by reddish-brown anthills; grasses and creepers weave over the geometry, evoking time’s dominance.

Characters & Entities

• yajña-vedi
• valmīka (anthill)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual spaces must be maintained; otherwise, even venerable yajña-vedīs become silent ruins—yet their sanctity remains traceable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya, marked by former yajña-vedīs as signs of its Vedic past.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajña is referenced through the vedi (altar), but no specific procedure is prescribed in this verse.