Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

दश द्वादशसंख्या वा प्राणायामाः कृता यदि । नियम्य मानसं तेन तदा तप्तं महत्तपः

Transliteration

daśa dvādaśasaṃkhyā vā prāṇāyāmāḥ kṛtā yadi | niyamya mānasaṃ tena tadā taptaṃ mahattapaḥ

Translation

ஒருவன் பத்து அல்லது பன்னிரண்டு முறை பிராணாயாமம் செய்து அதனால் மனத்தை அடக்கினால், அப்பொழுது உண்மையிலே மகத்தான தவம் மேற்கொண்டதாகும்।

Word by Word

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; प्रायः विशेषणरूपेण (indeclinable-like numeral), प्राणायामान् विशेषयति

• dvādaśa-saṃkhyā: (being) of the number twelve
• dvādaśa-saṃkhyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘द्वादशसंख्या’ = द्वादश संख्या यस्य/या (twelve in number)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: ‘or’)

• prāṇāyāmāḥ: breath-restraints (prāṇāyāmas)
• prāṇāyāmāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇāyāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• kṛtāḥ: performed
• kṛtāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘कृताः’ = done/performed

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle: ‘if’)

• niyamya: having restrained
• niyamya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√yam (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘नियम्य’ = having restrained

• mānasaṃ: the mind
• mānasaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tena: by that / thereby
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (by/through that)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: ‘then’)

• taptaṃ: undertaken / performed (as austerity)
• taptaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tap (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तप्तम्’ = heated/undertaken (as tapas)

• mahat-tapaḥ: great austerity
• mahat-tapaḥ: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/प्रधान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक) + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘महच्च तत् तपः’

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa narrative voice; instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king) implied by surrounding address in the passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forest hermitage at dawn: a sādhaka seated in padmāsana, spine erect, eyes half-closed, counting breaths on fingers; calm aura suggesting ‘mahattapas’ arising from mind-control.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Breath-discipline that steadies the mind is itself counted as great tapas (austerity).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it teaches general dharma within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform prāṇāyāma in a set count—ten or twelve repetitions—to restrain the mind.