Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

संनिरुध्येन्द्रियग्रामं यत्रयत्र वसेन्मुनिः । तत्र तत्र कुरुक्षेत्रं नैमिषं पुष्कराणि च

Transliteration

saṃnirudhyendriyagrāmaṃ yatrayatra vasenmuniḥ | tatra tatra kurukṣetraṃ naimiṣaṃ puṣkarāṇi ca

Translation

എവിടെയെവിടെയോ മുനി ഇന്ദ്രിയസമൂഹത്തെ നിയന്ത്രിച്ച് വസിക്കുന്നുവോ, അവിടവിടെയേ കുരുക്ഷേത്രവും നൈമിഷാരണ്യവും പുഷ്കരതീർത്ഥവും പോലെയുള്ള പുണ്യം ഉദിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• संनिरुध्य: having restrained
• संनिरुध्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-नि-√रुध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त), सम्+नि उपसर्गपूर्वक √रुध्; ‘having restrained’ (absolutive/gerund)

• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: the group of senses
• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘इन्द्रियाणां ग्रामः’ (collection of senses)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, स्थानवाचक (relative adverb)

• यत्र: wherever
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• वसेत्: should dwell
• वसेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘may dwell/should live’

• मुनिः: a sage
• मुनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, स्थानवाचक (correlative adverb)

• तत्र: in that very place
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative/समासार्थ-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्’

• नैमिषम्: Naimiṣa (holy place)
• नैमिषम्: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तीर्थनाम

• पुष्कराणि: Puṣkara holy places
• पुष्कराणि: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तीर्थनाम (the Puṣkaras)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra / Naimiṣa / Puṣkara (as archetypes invoked)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene muni seated in meditation beneath a tree; subtle radiance spreads outward, transforming the surrounding landscape into symbolic markers of Kurukṣetra, Naimiṣa forest, and Puṣkara lake.

Characters & Entities

• Kurukṣetra
• Naimiṣa
• Puṣkara
• Muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Inner discipline (sense-restraint) radiates outward: a realized sage transforms any dwelling-place into a pilgrimage-site.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra, Naimiṣa, and Puṣkara are invoked as benchmarks of sanctity, to say a sage’s abode equals them.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses) as the core yogic practice that confers tīrtha-like holiness.