Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

एवं कृते नरश्रेष्ठ न जन्तुर्नरकं व्रजेत् । अवश्यमेव मनुजैर्द्रष्टव्या नारकी स्थितिः

Transliteration

evaṃ kṛte naraśreṣṭha na janturnarakaṃ vrajet | avaśyameva manujairdraṣṭavyā nārakī sthitiḥ

Translation

Ô le meilleur des hommes, lorsque cela est accompli ainsi, nul être ne va en enfer. Pourtant, l’état de l’enfer doit assurément être « vu » par les mortels, comme avertissement et instruction du dharma.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of manner)

• कृते: when done; upon being performed
• कृते: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle); सप्तमी एकवचनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्गे (locative singular neuter) — ‘कृते (कर्मणि) = when (it is) done’

• नरश्रेष्ठ: O best of men
• नरश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन एकवचनम्; पुल्लिङ्ग (vocative singular masculine); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नराणां श्रेष्ठः)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negative particle)

• जन्तुः: a creature, being
• जन्तुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम्; पुल्लिङ्ग (nominative singular masculine)

• नरकम्: hell
• नरकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया एकवचनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (accusative singular neuter)

• व्रजेत्: would go; should go
• व्रजेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम् (3rd person singular optative, parasmaipada)

• अवश्यम्: certainly, necessarily
• अवश्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्यम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of certainty)

• एव: indeed, surely
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• मनुजैः: by men; by humans
• मनुजैः: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया बहुवचनम्; पुल्लिङ्ग (instrumental plural masculine)

• द्रष्टव्या: must be seen; is to be seen
• द्रष्टव्या: Kriyā (Predicative necessity/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्रष्टव्य (दृश् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory); प्रथमा एकवचनम्; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (nominative singular feminine) — कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘to be seen’

• नारकी: hellish; of hell
• नारकी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम्; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (nominative singular feminine) — विशेषणम्

• स्थितिः: state, condition
• स्थितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा एकवचनम्; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (nominative singular feminine)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (unspecified sub-tīrtha in this passage)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: naraśreṣṭha / nṛpa (king) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage instructs a king beside a sacred riverbank; in the background, a faint vision of naraka appears like a shadowy tableau—seen as warning—while the foreground shows orderly ritual implements and calm faces.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka (hell)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Correct observance at a sacred tīrtha protects from downfall, while contemplation of hell serves as ethical restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā tīrtha framework of Adhyāya 159, where these observances are taught.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse refers back to the prescribed sequence of dāna, vigil, bathing, tarpaṇa, dīpa-dāna, and feeding brāhmaṇas.