Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

योषितां जारसक्तानां नरके यमकिंकराः । संतप्तलोहपरिघं क्षिपंति स्मरमंदिरे

Transliteration

yoṣitāṃ jārasaktānāṃ narake yamakiṃkarāḥ | saṃtaptalohaparighaṃ kṣipaṃti smaramaṃdire

Translation

En enfer, les serviteurs de Yama jettent des massues de fer rougies au feu sur les femmes attachées à des amants illicites, dans la « demeure de Kāma », supplice né de la convoitise.

Word by Word

• yoṣitām: of women
• yoṣitām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoṣit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• jāra-saktānām: of those attached to a paramour
• jāra-saktānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāra (प्रातिपदिक) + sakta (कृदन्त; √sañj/सञ्ज् ‘to cling, be attached’)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिवत् विशेषण-प्रयोगः; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (जारसक्त = जारे सक्त)

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• yama-kiṃkarāḥ: Yama’s servants
• yama-kiṃkarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक) + kiṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य किंकराः)

• saṃtapta-loha-parigham: a red-hot iron club/bar
• saṃtapta-loha-parigham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtapta (कृदन्त; √tap/तप् ‘to heat’) + loha (प्रातिपदिक) + parigha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (संतप्तः लोहपरिघः / संतप्तलोहस्य परिघः)

• kṣipanti: they throw/cast
• kṣipanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣip (क्षिप्)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमा-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• smara-mandire: in the temple/abode of Kāma (Smara)
• smara-mandire: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक) + mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (स्मरस्य मन्दिरम्)

Speaker

Purāṇika (a Purāṇic reciter/teacher, as implied by the next verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A woman (unnamed) and the assembled audience; addressed indirectly through narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grim infernal court: Yamakiṅkaras (Yama’s attendants) hurl glowing iron clubs at a terrified figure within a ‘Smara-mandira’—a symbolic chamber of lust turned into torment; flames, iron, and shadowed architecture dominate.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Smara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sexual misconduct (jāra-sakti) is portrayed as dharma-violating and leads to severe karmic suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it is a dharma-teaching heard during the Gokarṇa visit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it functions as a deterrent teaching encouraging restraint and repentance.