Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

अश्मभिर्मृगयुर्हन्याद्बाणै र्वा बाधते मृगान् । स विध्यमानो बाणौघैः परत्र यमकिंकरैः

Transliteration

aśmabhirmṛgayurhanyādbāṇai rvā bādhate mṛgān | sa vidhyamāno bāṇaughaiḥ paratra yamakiṃkaraiḥ

Translation

Le chasseur qui tue avec des pierres, ou qui tourmente les bêtes avec des flèches, dans l’au-delà est transpercé par des averses de flèches, par les serviteurs de Yama.

Word by Word

• अश्मभिः: with stones
• अश्मभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• मृगयुः: a hunter
• मृगयुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगयु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• हन्यात्: should kill
• हन्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• बाणैः: with arrows
• बाणैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात — disjunctive particle ‘or’

• बाधते: harasses/torments
• बाधते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बाध् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Present, 3rd person, Singular, Atmanepada

• मृगान्: deer/animals
• मृगान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• विध्यमानः: being pierced
• विध्यमानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विध्य (धातु √व्यध् ‘to pierce’) + शानच् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Present passive participle sense ‘being pierced’, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बाणौघैः: by torrents/volleys of arrows
• बाणौघैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बाणानाम् ओघः)

• परत्र: hereafter
• परत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/कालवाचक-अव्यय — adverb ‘in the other world/thereafter’

• यमकिंकरैः: by Yama’s servants
• यमकिंकरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम + किंकर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य किंकराः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hunter striking animals with stones and arrows; in the afterworld, Yama’s servants pierce him with a rain of arrows—an exact mirroring of his cruelty.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamakiṃkara
• Mṛgayu (hunter)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Violence toward creatures rebounds as corresponding suffering; cruelty becomes one’s own experience after death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named in this verse; it serves as an ethical warning within the Setu Māhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on the karmic result of hunting and tormenting animals.