Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तेषामंगणदेशेषु कण्डूयन्ते कचान्मृगाः । ब्राह्मणा वेदमातां च जपंति विधिपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

teṣāmaṃgaṇadeśeṣu kaṇḍūyante kacānmṛgāḥ | brāhmaṇā vedamātāṃ ca japaṃti vidhipūrvakam

Translation

അവരുടെ മുറ്റങ്ങളിൽ മാൻകൾ തങ്ങളുടെ രോമം ചൊറിയുമാറുണ്ടായി; ബ്രാഹ്മണർ വിധിപൂർവം ‘വേദമാതാ’യെയും ജപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive plural; ‘of them’)

• aṅgaṇadeśeṣu: in the courtyard areas
• aṅgaṇadeśeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅgaṇa + deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (masculine, locative plural; ‘in the courtyard-places’)

• kaṇḍūyante: they scratch themselves
• kaṇḍūyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kaṇḍūy (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (present indicative, 3rd person plural, ātmanepada)

• kacān: hair (locks)
• kacān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन (masculine, accusative plural)

• mṛgāḥ: deer
• mṛgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• brāhmaṇāḥ: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• vedamātām: the Veda-mother (Gāyatrī)
• vedamātām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda + mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (feminine, accusative singular; ‘mother of the Veda’—i.e., Gāyatrī)

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

• japanti: they recite/mutter
• japanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (present indicative, parasmaipada, 3rd person plural)

• vidhipūrvakam: according to the prescribed method
• vidhipūrvakam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhi + pūrvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverbial compound; ‘according to rule’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet courtyard of an āśrama/home where deer stand calmly, scratching their coats against posts; nearby brahmins chant with manuscripts and mālā, the atmosphere suffused with gentle order.

Characters & Entities

• Deer (mṛga)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Veda-mātā (epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where dharma is lived through disciplined japa, even the natural world becomes gentle and unafraid—peace radiates outward.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is depicted as a sanctified habitat where humans and animals coexist without fear.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

To perform japa ‘according to rule’ (vidhi-pūrvakam), including chanting the revered Veda-mātā.