Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अधोमुखा ऊर्ध्व पादाः पीड्यंते यत्र लंबिताः । पञ्चमासिकदानेन मुक्तिस्तेषां प्रजायते

Transliteration

adhomukhā ūrdhva pādāḥ pīḍyaṃte yatra laṃbitāḥ | pañcamāsikadānena muktisteṣāṃ prajāyate

Translation

Là, ils sont tourmentés, suspendus la tête en bas—le visage vers le bas, les pieds vers le haut. Par l’offrande (dāna) accomplie tous les cinq mois, la délivrance naît pour eux.

Word by Word

• adhomukhāḥ: facing downward
• adhomukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhas + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; avyayībhāva/tatpuruṣa sense ‘adho-mukha’ = ‘face downward’ used adjectivally

• ūrdhva: upward
• ūrdhva: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana (agreeing with pādāḥ); used as qualifier

• pādāḥ: feet
• pādāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• pīḍyante: are tortured
• pīḍyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pīḍ (पीड् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana; karmaṇi-prayoga (passive): ‘are tormented’

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśavyaya (relative adverb: where)

• lambitāḥ: hung (suspended)
• lambitāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √lamb (लम्ब् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; ‘hung/suspended’

• pañcamāsikadānena: by a five-month donation
• pañcamāsikadānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca + māsika + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṃsaka/puṃliṅga? (here instrumental singular as abstract act), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘pañca-māsikaṃ dānam’ (a five-month offering)

• muktiḥ: release; liberation
• muktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Prathamā, Ekavacana

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana (pronoun)

• prajāyate: arises; is produced
• prajāyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣāroda (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sufferers hang inverted over a harsh landscape, bound by ropes or hooks, faces downward; below, a symbolic offering scene—hands giving alms—suggesting the five-monthly dāna as rescue.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is presented as a powerful dharmic remedy that can counteract suffering and support deliverance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it focuses on a form of punishment and the remedy of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcamāsika dāna—an offering/gift associated with a five-month observance.