Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रा महाव्याला व्याघ्रा यत्र महावृकाः । सुतप्ता वालुका यत्र क्षुधा तृष्णा तमो महत्

Transliteration

tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrā mahāvyālā vyāghrā yatra mahāvṛkāḥ | sutaptā vālukā yatra kṣudhā tṛṣṇā tamo mahat

Translation

ທີ່ນັ້ນມີງູໃຫຍ່ຂຽວຂົມມີເຂົ້ຍຄົມ, ມີເສືອ ແລະໝາປ່າໃຫຍ່. ຊາຍຮ້ອນລວກດັ່ງໄຟ; ຄວາມຫິວ, ຄວາມກະຫາຍ ແລະຄວາມມືດທຶບຄອບງຳຢູ່।

Word by Word

• tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrāḥ: having sharp fangs
• tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīkṣṇa + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि: ‘तीक्ष्णा दंष्ट्रा यस्य/येषाम्’

• mahāvyālāḥ: great serpents/beasts
• mahāvyālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + vyāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘great serpents/beasts’

• vyāghrāḥ: tigers
• vyāghrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāghra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (where)

• mahāvṛkāḥ: great wolves
• mahāvṛkāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + vṛka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘great wolves’

• sutaptāḥ: very hot
• sutaptāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-tapta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) from √tap (धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘well/very heated’ (vālukā-विशेषण)

• vālukāḥ: sands
• vālukāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālukā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (where)

• kṣudhā: hunger
• kṣudhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tṛṣṇā: thirst
• tṛṣṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛṣṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tamaḥ: darkness
• tamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mahat: great
• mahat: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tamaḥ-विशेषण)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Revā Khaṇḍa; specific speaker not stated in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak expanse of burning sand under a dim, oppressive sky; huge serpents rear up, tigers and wolves prowl; the sufferer is gaunt with hunger and thirst, engulfed by darkness.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma leads to suffering and terror; dharma is protection even beyond death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised in this verse; it depicts the frightening Yama-mārga as a warning to uphold dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; the verse functions as a moral-visual warning rather than a ritual instruction.