Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

राम तस्यां दीर्घिकायां निपतंति च शूकराः । यत्रांगना भर्तृयुता जलक्रीडापरायणाः

Transliteration

rāma tasyāṃ dīrghikāyāṃ nipataṃti ca śūkarāḥ | yatrāṃganā bhartṛyutā jalakrīḍāparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

ഹേ രാമാ, ഇപ്പോൾ അതേ ദീർഘികയിൽ പന്നികൾ വീഴുന്നു—ഒരിക്കൽ ഭർത്താക്കളോടുകൂടെ സ്ത്രീകൾ ജലക്രീഡയിൽ ലീനരായിരുന്ന സ്ഥലത്ത്.

Word by Word

• rāma: O Rama
• rāma: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• tasyām: in that (pond)
• tasyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (refers to dīrghikā)

• dīrghikāyām: in the pond/tank
• dīrghikāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīrghikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• nipatanti: fall down, plunge
• nipatanti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√pat (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• śūkarāḥ: boars
• śūkarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक/देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• aṅganāḥ: women
• aṅganāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅganā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• bhartṛyutāḥ: accompanied by husbands
• bhartṛyutāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhartṛ + yuta (प्रातिपदिक; √yuj (धातु) → yuta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सह/युक्तार्थ: भर्तृणा युताः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (of aṅganāḥ)

• jalakrīḍāparāyaṇāḥ: devoted to water-sport
• jalakrīḍāparāyaṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jala + krīḍā + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (विषय-सम्बन्ध: jalakrīḍāyāṃ parāyaṇāḥ); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (of aṅganāḥ)

Speaker

Dharmāraṇya-kṣetra Adhidevatā (the presiding deity of Dharmāraṇya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dīrghikā

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rāma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Foreground: boars tumbling into a neglected tank with slippery, broken steps; background overlay/flashback: couples joyfully playing in clear water with lotus blooms—two time layers in one composition.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Dīrghikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma and safety withdraw, sacred spaces lose their sanctified human use and become neglected.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dīrghikā of Dharmāraṇya-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly references snāna culture at the pond; no direct injunction is stated.