Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

कृन्त्यमानो यमभटैः पात्यते दुःखसंकुले । स्नाति चेद्धनुषः कोटौ तस्मिन्नासौ निपात्यते

Transliteration

kṛntyamāno yamabhaṭaiḥ pātyate duḥkhasaṃkule | snāti ceddhanuṣaḥ koṭau tasminnāsau nipātyate

Translation

Mis en pièces par les gardes de Yama, il est jeté dans un domaine saturé de souffrance. Même s’il se baigne à Dhanus-koṭi, sur le Setu, il est pourtant précipité en ce lieu même.

Word by Word

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

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

• पात्यते: is thrown down
• पात्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्/पातय् (धातु; causative of √पत्)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, कर्मणि-प्रयोग — Present, 3rd person, Singular, Passive

• दुःखसंकुले: in (a place) full of suffering
• दुःखसंकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अधिकरण-विशेषण), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Locative (7th), Singular; कर्मधारयः ‘दुःखैः संकुलः’

• स्नाति: bathes
• स्नाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय — conditional particle ‘if’

• धनुषः: of the bow
• धनुषः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन — Neuter, Genitive (6th), Singular

• कोटौ: at the tip/end
• कोटौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• तस्मिन्: there/in that (place)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — (Masc/Neut) Locative (7th), Singular

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय — negation ‘not’

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

• निपात्यते: is cast down (into)
• निपात्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्/पातय् (धातु; causative of √पत्) + नि- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, कर्मणि-प्रयोग — Present, 3rd person, Singular, Passive; उपसर्ग: नि

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhanus-koṭi (Setu)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama’s guards cut the sinner into pieces and hurl him into a suffering-crowded realm; a contrasting coastal Dhanus-koṭi snāna scene underscores that bathing alone does not save him.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamabhaṭa
• Setu
• Dhanuskoṭi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text stresses that moral transgression leads to intense suffering; sacred bathing is not a substitute for dharmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu’s Dhanus-koṭi is again referenced as a famed pilgrimage bathing-point.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Dhanus-koṭi is mentioned, but presented as ineffective for the implied grievous sinner.