Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ततो वर्षशते पूर्णे अन्तको मौनमास्थितः । काष्ठभूत इभवातस्थौ वल्मीकशतसंवृतः

Transliteration

tato varṣaśate pūrṇe antako maunamāsthitaḥ | kāṣṭhabhūta ibhavātasthau valmīkaśatasaṃvṛtaḥ

Translation

Then, when a full hundred years had passed, Antaka maintained silence; motionless like a piece of wood, he stood there, covered over by hundreds of anthills.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Avyaya (Adverb/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverb)

• वर्षशते: in (the period of) a hundred years
• वर्षशते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वर्षाणां शतम्)

• पूर्णे: completed
• पूर्णे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘वर्षशते’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अन्तकः: Antaka (Death)
• अन्तकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• मौनम्: silence
• मौनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मौन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• आस्थितः: having adopted/observing
• आस्थितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + स्था (धातु) → आस्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘अन्तकः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• काष्ठभूतः: become like wood
• काष्ठभूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काष्ठ + भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (काष्ठ इव भूतः)

• इभवत्: like an elephant
• इभवत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इभवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘इभ’ = गज, ‘वत्’ = like

• अतस्थौ: stood/remained
• अतस्थौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + स्था (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• वल्मीकशतसंवृतः: covered by a hundred anthills
• वल्मीकशतसंवृतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वल्मीक + शत + संवृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वल्मीकानां शतेन संवृतः); ‘संवृत’ = √वृ (धातु) क्त

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a King)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic standing utterly motionless for a hundred years, body partially encased by clustered anthills; vines and dust settle; the forest continues around him as if he were a tree trunk.

Characters & Entities

• Antaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfastness and self-restraint (mauna, stillness) are portrayed as powerful forms of tapas that can transform one’s state of being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Dharmāraṇya (a sacred forest-region) within the Skanda Purāṇa’s sacred geography, though no named tīrtha appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mauna (vow of silence) as a vrata-like discipline accompanying prolonged tapas.