Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

हन्तुकामो वृषं विप्रोऽभ्यधावत युधिष्ठिर । धावमानं ततो दृष्ट्वा स वृषः पूर्वसागरे

Transliteration

hantukāmo vṛṣaṃ vipro'bhyadhāvata yudhiṣṭhira | dhāvamānaṃ tato dṛṣṭvā sa vṛṣaḥ pūrvasāgare

Translation

Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, désireux de tuer le taureau, le brāhmane se lança à sa poursuite. Le voyant courir derrière lui, ce taureau s’enfuit vers l’Océan de l’Est.

Word by Word

• हन्तुकामः: desiring to kill
• हन्तुकामः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of विप्रः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन्तु (तुमुन्-रूप from हन् धातु) + काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (हन्तुं कामः)

• वृषम्: the bull (Vṛṣa)
• वृषम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• विप्रः: the brāhmaṇa
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• अभ्यधावत: ran towards
• अभ्यधावत: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्गः—अभि

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• धावमानम्: running
• धावमानम्: Karma (Object with participial qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धाव् (धातु) → धावमान (शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (present participle, परस्मैपद-शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (वृषम्)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वृषः: the bull (Vṛṣa)
• वृषः: Karta (Subject; apposition to सः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पूर्वसागरे: in the eastern ocean
• पूर्वसागरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वसागर (प्रातिपदिक: पूर्व + सागर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (पूर्वः सागरः)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrator) / Purāṇic narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira (listener named in verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pūrva-samudra (as directional sacred boundary)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa with raised staff runs after a divine bull; the bull darts toward the eastern ocean, waves and horizon suggesting escape into the vast.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)
• Vṛṣa (Bull)
• Pūrva-sāgara (Eastern Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained aggression (even by the learned) sets beings into fearful flight and initiates karmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it gestures to sacred geography via the Eastern Ocean and the bull’s flight.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.