Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अविचार्य ततः सर्वैराभीरैस्तैर्दुरात्मभिः । शूलीमारोपितः सद्यो नीत्वा किंचिद्वनांतरम्

Transliteration

avicārya tataḥ sarvairābhīraistairdurātmabhiḥ | śūlīmāropitaḥ sadyo nītvā kiṃcidvanāṃtaram

Translation

Puis, sans examen ni discernement, ces Ābhīras au cœur mauvais l’emmenèrent aussitôt en un endroit de la forêt et l’empalèrent sur un pieu.

Word by Word

• अविचार्य: without considering
• अविचार्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-चर् (धातु) + अवि- (उपसर्ग/निषेध) ; अविचार्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘अविचार्य’ = ‘विचारं न कृत्वा’ (having not considered)

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘thereupon/then/from that’

• सर्वैः: by all
• सर्वैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by all’ (instrumental plural)

• आभीरैः: by the Ābhīras
• आभीरैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by the Ābhīras (cowherds/tribe)’

• तैः: by those
• तैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by those’ (referring to the same agents)

• दुरात्मभिः: by wicked men
• दुरात्मभिः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by wicked-souled (men)’

• शूलीम्: Śūlin (Śiva)
• शूलीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘the one with a trident / Śiva’ (object of action)

• आरोपितः: was impaled/placed upon (a stake)
• आरोपितः: Kriyā (Main predicate, passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-रुह् (धातु) → आरोपित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘having been impaled/placed upon’ (passive sense)

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• नीत्वा: having taken/led
• नीत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having taken/led’

• किंचित्: some
• किंचित्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः ‘some/a certain’

• वनान्तरम्: into a forest interior
• वनान्तरम्: Karma (Goal/object of leading)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘वनस्य अन्तरम्’ = ‘interior of a forest’

Speaker

Sūta (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dark forest clearing: rough Ābhīra men drag a restrained ascetic/innocent figure; a sharpened stake stands upright; the moment of impalement is shown with restrained gore, emphasizing injustice and dread.

Characters & Entities

• Māṇḍavya
• Ābhīras
• Śūlī (stake/impalement)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Avicāra—acting without investigation—leads to grave injustice, a core warning in Purāṇic dharma narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Though the act occurs in a forest nearby, the larger teaching unfolds within the Viśvāmitrī Tīrtha māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts adharma (violent punishment without inquiry), setting up later moral-theological resolution.