Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

भीमश्वापदसंपूर्णं दावानलभयंकरम् । महारण्यं प्रविश्याथ शंकरो राजशेखरः

Transliteration

bhīmaśvāpadasaṃpūrṇaṃ dāvānalabhayaṃkaram | mahāraṇyaṃ praviśyātha śaṃkaro rājaśekharaḥ

Translation

Cette vaste forêt était pleine de redoutables bêtes de proie et rendue terrifiante par la menace du feu de brousse. Alors Śaṅkara, joyau suprême parmi les rois, pénétra dans cette grande solitude sauvage.

Word by Word

• bhīma-śvāpada-saṃpūrṇam: filled with dreadful wild beasts
• bhīma-śvāpada-saṃpūrṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīma (प्रातिपदिक) + śvāpadá (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃpūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• dāva-anala-bhayaṃkaram: terrifying with forest-fire
• dāva-anala-bhayaṃkaram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāva (प्रातिपदिक) + anala (प्रातिपदिक) + bhayaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahā-araṇyam: the great forest
• mahā-araṇyam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• praviśya: having entered
• praviśya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-viś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having entered’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• śaṃkaraḥ: Śaṅkara
• śaṃkaraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• rāja-śekharaḥ: the crest-jewel of kings
• rāja-śekharaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + śekhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपाधि/विशेष्य-सम्बोधन (appositional epithet)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Brāhma-khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu (Setubandha/Setukṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast forest crowded with fierce predators; the looming possibility of wildfire hangs in the air. A resolute king—Śaṅkara, ‘rājaśekhara’—steps into the wilderness, marking the start of a perilous sacred-bound expedition.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power enters perilous terrain; the Purāṇas use such settings to lead toward humility and the higher refuge of dharma and tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setukhaṇḍa frames the narrative within the Setu/Rāmeśvaram sacred landscape, though this verse focuses on the forest approach.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly.