Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पूयशोणितभक्षं च विषाग्निपरिपीडनम् । अष्टाविंशतिसंख्याकमेवं नरकसंचयम्

Transliteration

pūyaśoṇitabhakṣaṃ ca viṣāgniparipīḍanam | aṣṭāviṃśatisaṃkhyākamevaṃ narakasaṃcayam

Translation

Und (es gibt) Pūyaśoṇitabhakṣa, wo man gezwungen wird, Eiter und Blut zu essen; und Viṣāgniparipīḍana, wo man durch Gift und Feuer gequält wird. So heißt es, die Gesamtheit der Höllen betrage achtundzwanzig an der Zahl.

Word by Word

• पूयशोणितभक्षम्: eating pus and blood
• पूयशोणितभक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूय + शोणित + भक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter nom/acc sg; (पूयशोणितस्य भक्षः/भक्षणम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — ‘and’

• विषाग्निपरिपीडनम्: torment by poison and fire
• विषाग्निपरिपीडनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष + अग्नि + परि + पीडन (√पीड् ‘to torment’ ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — action noun (ल्युट्), neuter nom/acc sg; (विषाग्निना परिपीडनम्)

• अष्टाविंशतिसंख्याकम्: numbering twenty-eight
• अष्टाविंशतिसंख्याकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टाविंशति + संख्या + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter nom/acc sg; dvigu indicating number ‘28’

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘thus/in this way’

• नरकसंचयम्: the collection of hells
• नरकसंचयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक + संचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — neuter nom/acc sg; (नरकाणां संचयः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setu-khaṇḍa narrative style: Skanda teaching a sage/interlocutor)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two horrific punishments: forced eating of pus and blood; torment by poison and fire; followed by a ‘closing’ gesture—scribe-like enumeration of the 28 hells as a complete set.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (fire)
• Viṣa (poison)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sin is not abstract; it bears concrete experiential results—hence the Purāṇa urges dharmic living and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu (Rāmeśvaram/Setubandha) in the Setu-khaṇḍa, where tīrtha-merit is taught as protection from such destinies.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription here; it concludes a numbered list that prepares for the teaching on snāna and other tīrtha-prāyaścittas.