Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । श्रूयतां नृपशार्दूल धर्म्मारण्यनिवासिनाम्

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | śrūyatāṃ nṛpaśārdūla dharmmāraṇyanivāsinām

Translation

Vyāsa berkata: “Dengarlah, wahai harimau di antara para raja, akan kisah mereka yang mendiami Dharmāraṇya.”

Word by Word

• व्यासः: Vyāsa
• व्यासः: Karta (Speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• श्रूयताम्: let (this) be heard
• श्रूयताम्: Kriya (Exhortation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (let it be heard)

• नृपशार्दूल: O tiger among kings
• नृपशार्दूल: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप-शार्दूल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (नृपः एव शार्दूलः)

• धर्म्मारण्यनिवासिनाम्: of the residents of Dharmāraṇya
• धर्म्मारण्यनिवासिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म-अरण्य-निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (धर्मारण्ये निवासिनः)

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa raises his hand in a teaching gesture, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira, signaling the start of a detailed account of Dharmāraṇya’s residents.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Dharmāraṇya
• Yudhiṣṭhira (implied addressee: nṛpaśārdūla)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are understood through attentive listening to authoritative narration that preserves dharma and tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya itself is foregrounded as the sanctified region whose residents and lineages are being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is an invitation to hear (śravaṇa), a key purāṇic practice for receiving merit and understanding.