Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

वृको व्याघ्रोरगः श्वानः शृगालः सूकरोऽभवत् । दुरंतां यातनां प्राप्तः शमलेशं न विन्दति

Transliteration

vṛko vyāghroragaḥ śvānaḥ śṛgālaḥ sūkaro'bhavat | duraṃtāṃ yātanāṃ prāptaḥ śamaleśaṃ na vindati

Translation

فصار ذئبًا ونمرًا وحيةً وكلبًا وابنَ آوى وخنزيرًا بريًّا؛ ونال عذابًا لا ينقطع، فلم يجد حتى أدنى سكينة.

Word by Word

• vṛkaḥ: wolf
• vṛkaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vyāghra-uragaḥ: (as) tiger and serpent
• vyāghra-uragaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक) + uraga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative): ‘tiger and serpent’ treated as a unit

• śvānaḥ: dog
• śvānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śṛgālaḥ: jackal
• śṛgālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śṛgāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sūkaraḥ: boar
• sūkaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• duraṃtām: hard-to-end, relentless
• duraṃtām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duraṃta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; ‘yātanām’ इति विशेषण

• yātanām: torment, punishment
• yātanām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prāptaḥ: having obtained/undergone
• prāptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) + kta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘having obtained/undergone’

• śamala-īśam: the lord of sin/impurity
• śamala-īśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śamala (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘śamalasya īśaḥ’ (lord of impurity/sin)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negative particle)

• vindati: finds, attains
• vindati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence montage: the same jīva marked by a subtle glow passes through forms—wolf, tiger, serpent, dog, jackal, boar—each in harsh landscapes; the face shows no peace, only hunger and fear.

Characters & Entities

• rebirth as animals

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Severe pāpa can propel the jīva through painful, lower births and prolonged suffering until karmic debt is exhausted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No direct tīrtha praise occurs in this verse; it narrates karmic results within the broader Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.