Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

सूचीभेद्येऽथ संदंशे लालापे क्षुरधारके । प्रत्येकं नरके त्वेष पात्यतां कल्पसंख्यया

Transliteration

sūcībhedye'tha saṃdaṃśe lālāpe kṣuradhārake | pratyekaṃ narake tveṣa pātyatāṃ kalpasaṃkhyayā

Translation

—dans Sūcībhedya, puis dans Saṃdaṃśa, dans Lālāpa et dans Kṣuradhāraka—dans chaque enfer, l’un après l’autre, qu’il soit précipité pour un compte de kalpas.

Word by Word

• सूचीभेद्ये: in Sūcībhedya (needle-piercing hell)
• सूचीभेद्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूची-भेद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सूच्याः भेद्यः/भेदनयोग्यः)

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Discourse connector (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/समुच्चयार्थक (then/and)

• संदंशे: in Saṃdaṃśa (hell of pincers)
• संदंशे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संदंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• लालापे: in Lālāpa (hell)
• लालापे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लालाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• क्षुरधारके: in Kṣuradhāraka (razor-edged hell)
• क्षुरधारके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुर-धारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (क्षुरस्य धारः/धारकः)

• प्रत्येकम्: each (separately)
• प्रत्येकम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति-एक (अव्ययभावेन)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्ययीभावसमास (प्रति + एकम्) = ‘each, one by one’

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• एषः: this (person)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पात्यताम्: let (him) be cast down
• पात्यताम्: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive): ‘let him be made to fall/ be cast’

• कल्पसंख्यया: for a number of kalpas
• कल्पसंख्यया: Karana/Measure (करण/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प-संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कल्पानां संख्या)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) implied as deliverance from long saṃsāric suffering

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grim procession through needle-piercing torment (Sūcībhedya), crushing with tongs/presses (Saṃdaṃśa), a realm of drooling/forced saliva and thirst (Lālāpa), and razor-edge pathways (Kṣuradhāraka); above, a cosmic clock motif indicating ‘kalpa-sankhyā’.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Naraka realms: Sūcībhedya
• Saṃdaṃśa
• Lālāpa
• Kṣuradhāraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent adharma yields prolonged and repeated suffering; moral accountability is inescapable in the Purāṇic vision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named; the focus is on naraka consequences within the Kāśī narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is a judicial pronouncement of punishment.