Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

यूकामत्कुणदंशाद्यैः संकीर्णोऽयं द्विजोत्तम । नरको भीषणो नाम ख्यातः पञ्चदशो महान्

Transliteration

yūkāmatkuṇadaṃśādyaiḥ saṃkīrṇo'yaṃ dvijottama | narako bhīṣaṇo nāma khyātaḥ pañcadaśo mahān

Translation

O Bester der Zweimalgeborenen, diese Gegend wimmelt von Läusen, Bettwanzen, Mücken und dergleichen. Diese große Hölle, die fünfzehnte, ist berühmt unter dem Namen „Bhīṣaṇa“ (die Schreckliche).

Word by Word

• yūkā-matkuṇa-daṃśa-ādyaiḥ: by lice, bedbugs, gnats/biters, etc.
• yūkā-matkuṇa-daṃśa-ādyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yūkā (प्रातिपदिक) + matkuṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + daṃśa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास + ādi (etc.)

• saṃkīrṇaḥ: filled / infested
• saṃkīrṇaḥ: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/कर्मसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + kṝ (धातु) → saṃkīrṇa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dvija-uttama: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dvijānām uttamaḥ)

• narakaḥ: hell
• narakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhīṣaṇaḥ: terrible
• bhīṣaṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• nāma: by name
• nāma: Sambandha (Apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative)

• khyātaḥ: is known
• khyātaḥ: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/कर्मसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khyā (धातु) → khyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pañcadaśaḥ: fifteenth
• pañcadaśaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcadaśa (प्रातिपदिक; पञ्च + दश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• mahān: great
• mahān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-uttama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak infernal plain where the air itself swarms with gnats; bodies are covered with lice and bedbugs, creating a constant, maddening torment; attendants herd the condemned through the infestation.

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣaṇa (name of a naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa teaches that persistent wrongdoing culminates in degrading, painful states—meant to restrain the mind from adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues a sequence describing narakas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse identifies the naraka and its dreadful conditions.