Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

पेषणं नरकं यान्ति शोषणं जीवबन्धनात् । तत्रत्यां यातनां घोरां सहित्वा शास्त्रचोदिताम्

Transliteration

peṣaṇaṃ narakaṃ yānti śoṣaṇaṃ jīvabandhanāt | tatratyāṃ yātanāṃ ghorāṃ sahitvā śāstracoditām

Translation

അവർ പേഷണ എന്ന നരകത്തിലേക്കും, ജീവികളെ ബന്ധിച്ചതിന്റെ ദോഷം മൂലം ശോഷണ നരകത്തിലേക്കും പോകുന്നു. അവിടെ ശാസ്ത്രവിധിപ്രകാരം നിശ്ചയിച്ച ഭയങ്കര യാതന സഹിച്ച് കർമാനുസാരം മുന്നോട്ട് പോകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• peṣaṇam: crushing (punishment)
• peṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: peṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √piṣ/पिष् ‘to grind’ इत्यस्मात् भाव/कर्मणि-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘grinding/crushing (punishment)’

• narakam: to hell
• narakam: Gati/Karma (Destination as object/गत्यर्थक-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धाातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• śoṣaṇam: drying/withering (punishment)
• śoṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √śuṣ/शुष् ‘to dry’ इत्यस्मात् भाव/कर्मणि-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; ‘drying/withering (punishment)’

• jīvabandhanāt: from the binding of living beings
• jīvabandhanāt: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva + bandhana (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘jīvasya bandhanam’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे

• tatratyām: there (belonging to that place)
• tatratyām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tatratya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘there (in that place)’ इति विशेषणम् (यातनां विशेषयति)

• yātanām: torment
• yātanām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• ghorām: terrible
• ghorām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘terrible’ इति विशेषणम्

• sahitvā: having endured
• sahitvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sah (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); ‘having endured’

• śāstracoditām: enjoined by scripture
• śāstracoditām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāstra + codita (प्रातिपदिके; codita = √cud/चुद् क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: ‘śāstreṇa coditā’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; यातनां विशेषयति

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (Kārttikeya) narrating within Āvantya Khaṇḍa’s Reva Khaṇḍa frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Yama-loka tableau: sinners who bound creatures are driven toward the hells Peṣaṇa and Śoṣaṇa; dark corridors, iron implements, and the presence of Yama’s attendants; the text emphasizes ‘śāstra-ordained’ torment.

Characters & Entities

• Peṣaṇa (Naraka)
• Śoṣaṇa (Naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Enslaving or cruelly restraining beings is a serious adharma; scripture depicts proportionate consequences to cultivate compassion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is a doctrinal description within the Reva Khaṇḍa’s Revā-region framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied prescription is to avoid cruelty and bondage of beings, and to practice dharmic compassion.