Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

भ्रू संज्ञया हृतैर्नीतः स बद्ध्वा निरयालयम् । आक्रंदरावो यत्रोच्चैः पापिनां रोमहर्षणः

Transliteration

bhrū saṃjñayā hṛtairnītaḥ sa baddhvā nirayālayam | ākraṃdarāvo yatroccaiḥ pāpināṃ romaharṣaṇaḥ

Translation

Auf ein bloßes Zeichen der Augenbraue hin wurde er gepackt und fortgeführt; gefesselt brachte man ihn in die Wohnstatt der Hölle, wo das laute Wehklagen der Sünder erschallt und Schauder erregt.

Word by Word

• भ्रू: by (a) brow-sign / with the eyebrow
• भ्रू: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘भ्रुवा’ इत्यस्य वैदिक/छान्दस रूपम्

• संज्ञया: by a signal
• संज्ञया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• हृतैः: by (those) who had seized (him)
• हृतैः: Kartr-karana (Agent in instr./कर्तृ-तृतीया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; ‘हृत’ = ‘taken away’ (किंकरैः इत्यर्थे कर्तृवाच्य-तृतीया)

• नीतः: was led
• नीतः: Karta (of passive)/Karman (passive subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (प्रातिपदिक from √नी धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) from √नी, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘having been led’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• बद्ध्वा: having bound
• बद्ध्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having bound’

• निरयालयम्: to the abode of hell
• निरयालयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निरय-आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (निरयस्य आलयः)

• आक्रन्दरावः: wailing and cries
• आक्रन्दरावः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आक्रन्द-राव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (आक्रन्दश्च रावश्च)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adverbial (देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• उच्चैः: loudly
• उच्चैः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: loudly)

• पापिनाम्: of sinners
• पापिनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• रोमहर्षणः: hair-raising
• रोमहर्षणः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रोम-हर्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (रोम्णां हर्षणः) विशेषणम् (आक्रन्दरावस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) implied as alternative to nirayālaya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A condemned man is seized by fierce attendants at Yama’s subtle brow-signal, bound with ropes/iron fetters, dragged toward a dark gate labeled ‘Nirayālaya’; inside, a cavernous hall echoes with the hair-raising cries of sinners.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Niraya (hell)
• Kiṃkaras (implied attendants of Yama)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic justice is swift and unavoidable; the terror of niraya is presented as a warning against adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues the afterlife-judgment narrative within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive of punishment and the atmosphere of niraya.