Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

क्षुत्पिपासाकुलाः सर्वे ते तदा स्युर्न संशयः । किं पुनर्नरकस्था ये धर्मराजनिवेशने

Transliteration

kṣutpipāsākulāḥ sarve te tadā syurna saṃśayaḥ | kiṃ punarnarakasthā ye dharmarājaniveśane

Translation

Dann würden sie alle, ohne Zweifel, von Hunger und Durst gequält werden. Um wie viel mehr erst jene, die in der Hölle weilen, in der Wohnstatt des Dharmarāja!

Word by Word

• क्षुत्पिपासाकुलाः: distressed by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासाकुलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पिपासा (प्रातिपदिक) + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘आकुल’ (agitated) क्षुत्-पिपासा-हेतुकः (by hunger and thirst)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• स्युः: would be / may be
• स्युः: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• किम्: what? / how much more?
• किम्: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle; here in sense ‘what then?’)

• पुनः: moreover
• पुनः: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति/अधिक्यवाचक-अव्यय (again; moreover)

• नरकस्थाः: those in hell
• नरकस्थाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘नरके स्थाः’ इति (those situated in hell)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• धर्मराजनिवेशने: in the abode of Dharmarāja (Yama)
• धर्मराजनिवेशने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक) + निवेशन्/निवेशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘धर्मराजस्य निवेशने’ (in the abode of Yama)

Speaker

Pitṛgaṇa (Ancestors), stressing consequences

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark vision of pitṛs tormented by thirst and hunger, contrasted with the imposing court of Dharmarāja (Yama), emphasizing the urgency of ancestral offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmarāja (Yama)
• Naraka (hell)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Failure in ancestral support (tarpaṇa/śrāddha) leads to suffering; the text uses the imagery of hunger, thirst, and Yama’s realm to emphasize responsibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as a dharma-warning within a tīrtha-narrative; no specific tirtha is named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit prescription: perform tarpaṇa/śrāddha so departed beings are not left ‘hungry and thirsty,’ especially those in painful post-death states.