Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

संदंशो द्वादशश्चायं तथाऽभक्ष्यप्रभक्षकाः । लोहदंतमुखैर्गृधैर्भक्ष्यंतेऽत्र नराधमाः

Transliteration

saṃdaṃśo dvādaśaścāyaṃ tathā'bhakṣyaprabhakṣakāḥ | lohadaṃtamukhairgṛdhairbhakṣyaṃte'tra narādhamāḥ

Translation

Ce douzième enfer est Saṃdaṃśa. Ici, les hommes vils qui mangent ce qui est interdit sont dévorés par des vautours aux becs et aux dents de fer.

Word by Word

• saṃdaṃśaḥ: Saṃdaṃśa (name of hell)
• saṃdaṃśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dvādaśaḥ: twelfth
• dvādaśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण/समुच्चयार्थ (thus/also)

• abhakṣya-prabhakṣakāḥ: eaters of what should not be eaten
• abhakṣya-prabhakṣakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-bhakṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• loha-danta-mukhaiḥ: with iron teeth and mouths
• loha-danta-mukhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loha (प्रातिपदिक) + danta (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (gṛdhaiḥ इति विशेष्य)

• gṛdhaiḥ: by vultures
• gṛdhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• bhakṣyante: are eaten/devoured
• bhakṣyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• narādhamāḥ: worst of men
• narādhamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The twelfth hell Saṃdaṃśa: iron-beaked, iron-toothed vultures tear and devour those who ate forbidden foods; the air is thick with ash and the clang of metal beaks.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃdaṃśa (Naraka)
• Vultures (gṛdhra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes restraint in diet; violating sacred food-boundaries (abhakṣya) is treated as a serious ethical-spiritual breach.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is identified in this verse; it is a dharma-warning within the Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied prescription is śuddha-āhāra (pure diet) and adherence to dhārmic food rules.