Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

क्वचिच्छीतं महादुर्गमन्धकारं क्वचिन्महत् । अग्निसंस्पर्शवदनैः काककाकोलजंबुकैः

Transliteration

kvacicchītaṃ mahādurgamandhakāraṃ kvacinmahat | agnisaṃsparśavadanaiḥ kākakākolajaṃbukaiḥ

Translation

कहीं तीव्र शीत है, कहीं अत्यन्त दुर्गम घोर अन्धकार; और अग्नि-स्पर्श-से मुख वाले कौए, काकोल और सियार उसे पीड़ित करते हैं।

Word by Word

• क्वचित्: somewhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place: 'somewhere')

• शीतम्: cold
• शीतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• महादुर्गम्: very difficult/terrible
• महादुर्गम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + दुर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (महच्च तत् दुर्गम्)

• अन्धकारम्: darkness
• अन्धकारम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• क्वचित्: somewhere
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय

• महत्: great/immense
• महत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• अग्निसंस्पर्शवदनैः: by those with faces like the touch of fire
• अग्निसंस्पर्शवदनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि + संस्पर्श + वदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (अग्निसंस्पर्शं वदनं येषाम्—बहुव्रीह्यर्थे प्रयोगः)

• काककाकोलजंबुकैः: by crows, owls, and jackals
• काककाकोलजंबुकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काक + काकोल + जंबुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वसमासः

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa framing)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shifting infernal landscape: sudden freezing tracts and then vast, impassable darkness; crows, ravens, and jackals attack with burning mouths.

Characters & Entities

• Kāka
• Kākola
• Jaṃbuka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The after-death path for the unrighteous is depicted as perilous and frightening, urging moral restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse describes the punitive landscape en route to Yama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive and admonitory rather than ritualistic.