Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

नरस्त्रीबालवृद्धेषु दह्यमानेषु सर्वतः । निर्दयं ज्वलते वह्निर्हाहाकारो महानभूत् । काचिच्च सुखसंसुप्ताप्रमत्तान्या नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

narastrībālavṛddheṣu dahyamāneṣu sarvataḥ | nirdayaṃ jvalate vahnirhāhākāro mahānabhūt | kācicca sukhasaṃsuptāpramattānyā nṛpottama

Translation

എല്ലായിടത്തും പുരുഷന്മാരും സ്ത്രീകളും കുട്ടികളും വൃദ്ധരും ദഹിക്കുമ്പോൾ, അഗ്നി നിർദയമായി ജ്വലിച്ചു; ‘ഹാ ഹാ’ എന്ന മഹാ നിലവിളി ഉയർന്നു. എങ്കിലും ചിലർ സുഖമായി ഉറങ്ങുകയും ചിലർ അശ്രദ്ധയിൽ തുടരുകയും ചെയ്തു—ഹേ നൃപോത്തമാ।

Word by Word

• नरस्त्रीबालवृद्धेषु: among men, women, children, and the old
• नरस्त्रीबालवृद्धेषु: Adhikarana (Location/among)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + strī (प्रातिपदिक) + bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम्; द्वन्द्व-समासः (नराः+स्त्रियः+बालाः+वृद्धाः) तेषु

• दह्यमानेषु: while (they were) being burnt
• दह्यमानेषु: Adhikarana (Locative absolute-like)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dah (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि शतृ-प्रत्यय; पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी बहुवचनम् (नरस्त्री... इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• सर्वतः: everywhere, on all sides
• सर्वतः: Adhikarana (Extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परितः/सर्वदिक्-व्याप्ति)

• निर्दयम्: mercilessly
• निर्दयम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nir-daya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘निर्दयतया’

• ज्वलते: blazes
• ज्वलते: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jval (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• वह्निः: fire
• वह्निः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• हाहाकारः: a cry of ‘hā hā’, wailing
• हाहाकारः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāhākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• महान्: great, loud
• महान्: Karta (Qualifier of hāhākāraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (हाहाकारः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• अभूत्: arose, happened
• अभूत्: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (अनद्यतनभूतकालः/Aorist), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kācid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक ‘किम्’ स्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय)

• सुखसंसुप्ता: sound asleep comfortably
• सुखसंसुप्ता: Karta (Qualifier of kācit)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsupta (कृदन्त, सं-√svap ‘शयने’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (काचित् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्); तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः ‘सुखेन संसुप्ता’ = सुखेन सुप्ता

• प्रमत्ता: careless, heedless
• प्रमत्ता: Karta (Qualifier of kācit)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pramatta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक, प्र-√mad ‘मादे’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (काचित् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• अन्या: another (woman)
• अन्या: Karta (Subject, new clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; ‘अन्या (स्त्री)’

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपोत्तम: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘नृपाणाम् उत्तम’

Speaker

Narrator addressing the king (nṛpottama)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic inferno consuming all ages and genders; the sky filled with smoke; a wave of lamentation rises, while a few figures lie asleep or remain indifferent in sheltered interiors.

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Tripura (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pramāda (spiritual negligence) blinds beings even when danger is near; wakefulness in dharma is urged before Kāla overwhelms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is admonitory through narrative imagery.