Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अनुद्रुतस्ततो देव्या महिषो दानवेश्वरः । धर्मपुष्कीरणीतोये दशयोजनमायते

Transliteration

anudrutastato devyā mahiṣo dānaveśvaraḥ | dharmapuṣkīraṇītoye daśayojanamāyate

Translation

देवीच्या पाठलागाने दानवांचा अधिपती महिष दहा योजन पसरलेल्या धर्मपुष्करिणीच्या पाण्यात शिरला।

Word by Word

• अनुद्रुतः: pursued; followed
• अनुद्रुतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु-√द्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (one who has been pursued/followed)

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकार: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of sequence: then/from there)

• देव्या: by the goddess
• देव्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-हेतुः (by the goddess)

• महिषः: Mahisha (buffalo-demon)
• महिषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्तृ (subject)

• दानव-ईश्वरः: lord of the demons
• दानव-ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (lord of the demons)

• धर्म-पुष्करिणी-तोये: in the water of Dharmapuṣkariṇī
• धर्म-पुष्करिणी-तोये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + पुष्करिणी (प्रातिपदिक) + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण; समास: (धर्मस्य) पुष्करिणी (नाम) तस्याः तोये = in the water of Dharmapuṣkariṇī

• दश-योजनम्: ten yojanas (in extent)
• दश-योजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; प्रमाण/परिमाण (measure as extent)

• आयते: extends
• आयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; अर्थ: विस्तरति/प्रसारितो भवति (extends)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmapuṣkariṇī

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahīṣa, the buffalo-demon, plunges into an immense sacred lake whose surface ripples like a dark mirror; distant banks curve beyond sight, lotuses and birds scatter as the waters swallow him.

Characters & Entities

• Mahīṣa (Mahīṣāsura)
• Devī
• Dharmapuṣkarī (lake/tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred waters are not a hiding place for wrongdoing; tīrthas are domains of dharma where adharma is exposed and subdued.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmapuṣkarī (Dharmapuṣkariṇī), a named sacred lake within the Setukhaṇḍa’s pilgrimage geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here, though the naming and measurement of the lake function as tīrtha-identification typical of māhātmya literature.