Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

तथा चतुर्दशोनाम नरकोऽधोमुखः स्थितः । नरकाणां समस्तानामेष रौद्रतमाकृतिः

Transliteration

tathā caturdaśonāma narako'dhomukhaḥ sthitaḥ | narakāṇāṃ samastānāmeṣa raudratamākṛtiḥ

Translation

ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಹದಿನಾಲ್ಕನೇ ನರಕ ‘ಅಧೋಮುಖ’ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ; ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಮನುಷ್ಯರನ್ನು ತಲೆಕೆಳಗಾಗಿ (ಮುಖ ಕೆಳಗೆ) ಇಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಲ್ಲ ನರಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ರೂಪವೇ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಭೀಕರವಾಗಿದೆ.

Word by Word

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• caturdaśaḥ: fourteenth
• caturdaśaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (प्रातिपदिक; चतुर् + दश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• nāma: by name
• nāma: Sambandha (Apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative)

• narakaḥ: hell (a hell)
• narakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• adho-mukhaḥ: face-down / downward-faced
• adho-mukhaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhas (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (adho mukhaḥ = downward-faced)

• sthitaḥ: situated / standing
• sthitaḥ: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/कर्मसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) → sthita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• narakāṇām: of the hells
• narakāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• samastānām: of all
• samastānām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• raudratama-ākṛtiḥ: a form of utmost ferocity
• raudratama-ākṛtiḥ: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate noun/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raudratama (प्रातिपदिक; raudra + tama) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (raudratamāyāḥ ākṛtiḥ = form of the most terrible)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast infernal grove where bodies hang inverted; the landscape itself feels upside-down, with ominous flames and attendants enforcing the posture.

Characters & Entities

• Adhomukha (name of a naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma culminates in states of profound suffering; the Purāṇa underscores fear of wrongdoing to protect dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is part of a broader māhātmya discourse using naraka-descriptions as deterrence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; the verse identifies and characterizes a particular naraka.