Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

यथा पार्थिवधातूनां दह्यते धमनान्मलाः । तथेंद्रियैः कृता दोषा ज्वाल्यंते प्राणसंयमात्

Transliteration

yathā pārthivadhātūnāṃ dahyate dhamanānmalāḥ | tatheṃdriyaiḥ kṛtā doṣā jvālyaṃte prāṇasaṃyamāt

Translation

ดุจดังมลทินในโลหะธาตุแห่งปฐพีถูกเผาไหม้ด้วยเตาหลอม ฉันใด โทษที่เกิดจากอินทรีย์ทั้งหลายก็ถูกจุดเผาและดับสูญด้วยการสำรวมลมหายใจ ฉันนั้น

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative: ‘just as’)

• pārthiva-dhātūnām: of the earthly elements
• pārthiva-dhātūnām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक) + dhātu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘पार्थिवानां धातूनाम्’ (of earthly elements/constituents)

• dahyate: is burned
• dahyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (is burned)

• dhamanāt: by blowing (fanning)
• dhamanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (from/by blowing)

• malāḥ: impurities
• malāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tathā: so / likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तुल्यतावाचक-अव्यय (so/likewise)

• indriyaiḥ: by the senses
• indriyaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; करणार्थे (by the senses)

• kṛtāḥ: committed
• kṛtāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘कृताः’ = done/committed

• doṣāḥ: faults / sins
• doṣāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• jvālyante: are burned up
• jvālyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jval (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद; णिजन्त-कर्मणि/भावे (are made to blaze/are burned up)

• prāṇa-saṃyamāt: from breath-control
• prāṇa-saṃyamāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (from/through restraint of breath)

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa narrative voice; instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Split-scene metaphor: on one side a smith’s furnace refining metal; on the other a yogin with a subtle inner flame at nābhi/hṛdaya, senses depicted as subdued animals, signifying doṣa being burned.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prāṇāyāma is portrayed as an inner fire that purifies sensory-born defects.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified; the verse uses a general purification metaphor.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Practice prāṇa-saṃyama (breath restraint) to burn away दोष arising from the senses.