Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

आप्लुत्याप्लुत्य दुर्दंष्ट्रकाकोलैर्लोहतुंडकैः । संतोद्यमानान्पापिष्ठान्नित्यं कल्पं निवासय

Transliteration

āplutyāplutya durdaṃṣṭrakākolairlohatuṃḍakaiḥ | saṃtodyamānānpāpiṣṭhānnityaṃ kalpaṃ nivāsaya

Translation

ಅವರನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮುಳುಗಿಸಿ, ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಕೊಕ್ಕುಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಭಯಂಕರವಾದ ಕೋರೆಹಲ್ಲುಗಳುಳ್ಳ ಕಾಗೆಗಳಿಂದ ಕುಕ್ಕಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಆ ಪಾಪಿಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದು ಕಲ್ಪದವರೆಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇರಿಸು.

Word by Word

• āplutya: having plunged
• āplutya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + plut (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): आप्लुत्य = having plunged/dipped

• āplutya: again and again plunging
• āplutya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā + plut (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for intensity)

• dur-daṃṣṭra-kākolaiḥ: by evil-fanged crows
• dur-daṃṣṭra-kākolaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur (उपसर्गवत्-प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक) + kākola (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; दुर्दंष्ट्राः काकोलाः (evil-fanged crows)

• loha-tuṃḍakaiḥ: by iron-beaked (birds)
• loha-tuṃḍakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loha (प्रातिपदिक) + tuṃḍaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; लोहतुण्डक (iron-beaked birds)

• saṃtodyamānān: being repeatedly stabbed
• saṃtodyamānān: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + tud (धातु) → todyamāna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, कर्मणि वर्तमानकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे वर्तमानकृदन्त (being pierced)

• pāpiṣṭhān: most wicked
• pāpiṣṭhān: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक) → pāpiṣṭha (तद्धित/तरप्-तमप्, superlative)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; तमप्-प्रत्यय (superlative): most sinful

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (always)

• kalpam: for a kalpa (eon)
• kalpam: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (for a kalpa/eon)

• nivāsaya: make them dwell/keep them confined
• nivāsaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + vas (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; णिच् (causative) भाव: निवासय = cause to dwell/keep confined

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Infernal enforcers (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hell-scene where sinners are dunked again and again into a dark pit or cauldron, then attacked by iron-beaked, hard-fanged crows; the horizon shows an unending cycle, suggesting kalpa-long duration; attendants enforce the rhythm of torment.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse intensifies the warning that grave wrongdoing can bind one to prolonged suffering; dharma is not negotiable.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The textual home is the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī), though the verse is a karmic caution rather than a tīrtha-glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it motivates ethical living and seeking purification (prāyaścitta) to avoid mahāpātaka outcomes.