Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

आलिंगंति दुरात्मानः परदाररतास्तु ये । एते वैतरणीमध्ये पूयशोणितसंकुले

Transliteration

āliṃgaṃti durātmānaḥ paradāraratāstu ye | ete vaitaraṇīmadhye pūyaśoṇitasaṃkule

Translation

Les hommes à l’âme mauvaise, qui se complaisent dans l’épouse d’autrui, sont contraints d’étreindre dans le supplice; ils demeurent au milieu de la Vaitaraṇī, rivière encombrée de pus et de sang.

Word by Word

• आलिङ्गन्ति: embrace
• आलिङ्गन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+√लिङ्ग् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• दुरात्मानः: evil-souled ones
• दुरात्मानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पर-दार-रताः: addicted to others’ wives
• पर-दार-रताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (कृदन्त; √रम् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘दुरात्मानः’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वैतरणी-मध्ये: in the midst of Vaitaraṇī (river)
• वैतरणी-मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतरणी (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• पूय-शोणित-संकुले: filled with pus and blood
• पूय-शोणित-संकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूय (प्रातिपदिक) + शोणित (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘मध्ये’/अधिकरणस्य

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa witness

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Adulterous men are shown compelled into a grotesque ‘embrace’ while submerged in the Vaitaraṇī—an infernal river thick with pus and blood—under the watch of attendants; the river’s current symbolizes inescapable karmic flow.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Vaitaraṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sexual misconduct that violates another household’s sanctity is a serious breach of dharma and leads to severe karmic suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the Māhātmya uses such depictions to inspire dharmic living alongside pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied discipline is brahmacarya/saṃyama (restraint) and respect for gṛhastha-dharma.