Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

अगाधा पाररहिता दृष्टमात्रा भयावहा । पूयशोणिततोया सा मांसकर्दमनिर्मिता

Transliteration

agādhā pārarahitā dṛṣṭamātrā bhayāvahā | pūyaśoṇitatoyā sā māṃsakardamanirmitā

Translation

Elle est insondable, sans rive d’au-delà, et terrifiante à la seule vue ; ses eaux sont pus et sang, et elle est faite d’une boue de chair.

Word by Word

• अगाधा: unfathomable
• अगाधा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + गाध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पाररहिता: without the far bank
• पाररहिता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार + रहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-तत्पुरुष (पारं रहिता = lacking a far shore)

• दृष्टमात्रा: terrifying merely to behold
• दृष्टमात्रा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृष्ट (दृश् + क्त, कृदन्त) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दृष्टं मात्रं यस्याः/यया)

• भयावहा: bringing fear
• भयावहा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय + आवह (आ + वह्, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (भयं आवहति इति)

• पूयशोणिततोया: whose water is pus and blood
• पूयशोणिततोया: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूय + शोणित + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पूय-शोणितं तोयं यस्याः)

• सा: she/that (river)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मांसकर्दमनिर्मिता: made of flesh-mud
• मांसकर्दमनिर्मिता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मांस + कर्दम + निर्मित (नि + मा + क्त, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मांस-कर्दमेन निर्मिता)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, shoreless black-red river; its surface churns with pus and blood; banks are absent; the very sight induces fear; the riverbed is a mire of flesh.

Characters & Entities

• Vaitaraṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Graphic cosmological imagery functions as a moral deterrent, urging dharmic living and meritorious acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No earthly tīrtha is named; the verse describes Vaitaraṇī at Yamadvāra, contrasted with the saving power of tīrtha-acts mentioned earlier.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is descriptive, intensifying the urgency for dharma and merit.