Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

आप्लुत्याप्लुत्य दुर्दंष्ट्रकाकोलैर्लोहतुंडकैः । संतोद्यमानान्पापिष्ठान्नित्यं कल्पं निवासय

Transliteration

āplutyāplutya durdaṃṣṭrakākolairlohatuṃḍakaiḥ | saṃtodyamānānpāpiṣṭhānnityaṃ kalpaṃ nivāsaya

Translation

بعد غمسهم مرارًا وتكرارًا، اجعل أولئك الأكثر إثمًا يُنقَرون باستمرار من قبل غربان ذات مناقير حديدية وأنياب صلبة، وأبقهم هناك لدهر كامل بلا راحة.

Word by Word

• āplutya: having plunged
• āplutya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + plut (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): आप्लुत्य = having plunged/dipped

• āplutya: again and again plunging
• āplutya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + plut (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for intensity)

• dur-daṃṣṭra-kākolaiḥ: by evil-fanged crows
• dur-daṃṣṭra-kākolaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur (उपसर्गवत्-प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक) + kākola (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; दुर्दंष्ट्राः काकोलाः (evil-fanged crows)

• loha-tuṃḍakaiḥ: by iron-beaked (birds)
• loha-tuṃḍakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loha (प्रातिपदिक) + tuṃḍaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; लोहतुण्डक (iron-beaked birds)

• saṃtodyamānān: being repeatedly stabbed
• saṃtodyamānān: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + tud (धातु) → todyamāna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, कर्मणि वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे वर्तमानकृदन्त (being pierced)

• pāpiṣṭhān: most wicked
• pāpiṣṭhān: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक) → pāpiṣṭha (तद्धित/तरप्-तमप्, superlative)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; तमप्-प्रत्यय (superlative): most sinful

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (always)

• kalpam: for a kalpa (eon)
• kalpam: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (for a kalpa/eon)

• nivāsaya: make them dwell/keep them confined
• nivāsaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + vas (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; णिच् (causative) भाव: निवासय = cause to dwell/keep confined

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Infernal enforcers (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hell-scene where sinners are dunked again and again into a dark pit or cauldron, then attacked by iron-beaked, hard-fanged crows; the horizon shows an unending cycle, suggesting kalpa-long duration; attendants enforce the rhythm of torment.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse intensifies the warning that grave wrongdoing can bind one to prolonged suffering; dharma is not negotiable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The textual home is the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī), though the verse is a karmic caution rather than a tīrtha-glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it motivates ethical living and seeking purification (prāyaścitta) to avoid mahāpātaka outcomes.