Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

एष दुर्गमनामा च नवमो द्विजसत्तम । तीक्ष्णकंटकसंकीर्णः सर्पवृश्चिकसंकुलः

Transliteration

eṣa durgamanāmā ca navamo dvijasattama | tīkṣṇakaṃṭakasaṃkīrṇaḥ sarpavṛścikasaṃkulaḥ

Translation

Ô meilleur des brāhmaṇas, ce neuvième se nomme Durgama. Il est jonché d’épines acérées et grouille de serpents et de scorpions.

Word by Word

• एषः: this (one)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• दुर्गमनामा: whose name is ‘Durgama’
• दुर्गमनामा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्गम (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: ‘यस्य नाम दुर्गम’ — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; bahuvrihi adjective

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• नवमः: ninth
• नवमः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; ordinal adjective

• द्विजसत्तम: O best of brahmins
• द्विजसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (आह्वान), एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तीक्ष्णकण्टकसंकीर्णः: strewn with sharp thorns
• तीक्ष्णकण्टकसंकीर्णः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + कण्टक (प्रातिपदिक) + संकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (एषः इत्यस्य) — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; adjective

• सर्पवृश्चिकसंकुलः: infested with snakes and scorpions
• सर्पवृश्चिकसंकुलः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + वृश्चिक (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सर्प-वृश्चिकैः संकुलः’ इत्यर्थे — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; adjectival

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Durgama (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The ninth hell ‘Durgama’: a vast thorn-field where the ground itself is spikes; snakes coil in heaps and scorpions swarm; sinners stumble barefoot, pursued by attendants.

Characters & Entities

• Durgama (Naraka)
• Snakes
• Scorpions

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa uses vivid imagery to impress that harmful actions create harsh, fearsome results—dharma is protection, adharma becomes torment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a descriptive segment within the chapter’s broader sacred teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; the verse is descriptive of a naraka’s nature.