Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

रोरूयमाणैर्दाहार्तैः पच्यमानै र्हविर्भुजा । खंडशः क्रियमाणैश्च तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैरनेकधा

Transliteration

rorūyamāṇairdāhārtaiḥ pacyamānai rhavirbhujā | khaṃḍaśaḥ kriyamāṇaiśca tīkṣṇaśastrairanekadhā

Translation

هناك يعوون بصوتٍ عالٍ، معذَّبين بحرِّ الاحتراق، «مطبوخين» على يد آكل القرابين—النار (أغني)—ويُقطَّعون إربًا شتّى بحدائدَ حادّةٍ على وجوهٍ كثيرة.

Word by Word

• रोरूयमाणैः: by those wailing
• रोरूयमाणैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रु (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle) ‘रोरूयमाण’

• दाहार्तैः: by those distressed by burning
• दाहार्तैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दाह + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); 'दाहेन आर्ताः'

• पच्यमानैः: by those being cooked
• पच्यमानैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पच् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि-वर्तमानकृदन्त (passive present participle)

• हविर्भुजा: by the fire (eater of oblations)
• हविर्भुजा: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् + भुज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental singular); 'हविः भुङ्क्ते' इति (fire)

• खण्डशः: piecemeal
• खण्डशः: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: खण्डशः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in pieces)

• क्रियमाणैः: by those being cut up/made (into pieces)
• क्रियमाणैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि-वर्तमानकृदन्त (being done/made)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैः: with sharp weapons
• तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीक्ष्ण + शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); 'तीक्ष्णानि शस्त्राणि'

• अनेकधा: in many ways
• अनेकधा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकधा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in many ways)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāraurava

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A furnace-like infernal chamber: flames personified as ‘havirbhuj’ engulf the wailing; sharp blades descend from all sides, fragmenting bodies in a stylized, allegorical manner; emphasis on heat, noise, and inevitability.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (as havirbhuj)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions opposed to dharma bear painful results; the Purāṇas teach restraint through vivid karmic imagery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues a naraka-description within the larger Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive (phala/daṇḍa) rather than prescriptive (vidhi).