Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

अपरस्तु समाख्यातः क्षारोदस्तु सुदारुणः । कृतघ्नानां समादिष्टः सदैव बहुवेदनः

Transliteration

aparastu samākhyātaḥ kṣārodastu sudāruṇaḥ | kṛtaghnānāṃ samādiṣṭaḥ sadaiva bahuvedanaḥ

Translation

On en proclame un autre : Kṣāroda, d’une cruauté extrême. Il est assigné aux ingrats et apporte sans cesse des douleurs multiples.

Word by Word

• aparaḥ: another; the other
• aparaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• tu: but; indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), emphasis/contrast

• samākhyātaḥ: is called; is declared
• samākhyātaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√khyā (ख्या धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle/भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmaṇi-prayoga sense ‘is called/declared’

• kṣārodaḥ: (the hell) Kṣāroda
• kṣārodaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣāra + uda (प्रातिपदिक); kṣāra-uda (क्षारोद)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; Ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (determinative): ‘kṣārasya udaṃ’ (water of alkali)

• tu: and/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), emphasis/contrast

• sudāruṇaḥ: very dreadful
• sudāruṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; upasarga/prefix ‘su-’ intensifier

• kṛtaghnānām: of the ungrateful (people)
• kṛtaghnānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtaghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• samādiṣṭaḥ: ordained; assigned
• samādiṣṭaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√diś (दिश् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ‘appointed/ordained (for)’

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Kālavyaya (adverb of time)

• eva: indeed; only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (particle of emphasis)

• bahuvedanaḥ: causing much pain
• bahuvedanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu + vedana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya: ‘bahuṃ vedanaṃ yasya/vedanā yatra’ (much pain)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣāroda (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A harsh landscape of caustic, salt-like waters and crusted ground; sufferers writhing as if burned by brine; attendants enforce the torment; visual metaphor of ‘corrosion’ for ingratitude.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣāroda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gratitude is upheld as a core virtue; ingratitude is framed as a serious moral failure with painful karmic outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is praised in this verse; it names Kṣāroda as a hell-region within the chapter’s moral exposition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is mentioned here; it identifies the naraka allotted for the ungrateful.