Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

रौद्रा वैतरणी चैव कुम्भीपाको भयावहः । कालसूत्रो महाभीमस्तथा यमलपर्वतौ

Transliteration

raudrā vaitaraṇī caiva kumbhīpāko bhayāvahaḥ | kālasūtro mahābhīmastathā yamalaparvatau

Translation

റൗദ്രം, വൈതരണി, ഭയാവഹമായ കുംഭീപാകം, അതിമഹാഭീമമായ കാലസൂത്രം, കൂടാതെ യമലോകത്തിലെ പർവതങ്ങൾ—ഇവ (നരകങ്ങൾ) അവിടെ ഉണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• raudrā: Raudrā (a dreadful place/hell)
• raudrā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raudrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular feminine (name of a hell/river etc.)

• vaitaraṇī: Vaitaraṇī (the river Vaitaraṇī)
• vaitaraṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaitaraṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular feminine

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात

• kumbhī-pākaḥ: Kumbhīpāka (a hell)
• kumbhī-pākaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbhī (प्रातिपदिक) + pāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कुम्भ्यां पाको/कुम्भीपाकः)

• bhaya-āvahaḥ: bringing fear
• bhaya-āvahaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (भयं आवहति इति); adjective qualifying kumbhīpākaḥ

• kāla-sūtraḥ: Kālasūtra (a hell)
• kāla-sūtraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + sūtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास

• mahā-bhīmaḥ: very terrible
• mahā-bhīmaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhīma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय; adjective qualifying kālasūtraḥ

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• yamala-parvatau: the twin mountains (Yamalaparvata)
• yamala-parvatau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yamala (प्रातिपदिक) + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (यमलौ पर्वतौ)

Speaker

Narrator within the Revā Khaṇḍa context (deductive attribution: Mārkaṇḍeya to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic infernal map: a raging ‘Raudra’ zone, the Vaitaraṇī river crossing, a cauldron-like Kumbhīpāka, a dark binding line/track of Kālasūtra, and looming mountains marking Yama’s borders.

Characters & Entities

• Raudra
• Vaitaraṇī
• Kumbhīpāka
• Kālasūtra
• Yama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

By naming the dreadful narakas, it reinforces accountability to dharma and the urgency of cultivating merit and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is a contextual naraka-list within the Revā Khaṇḍa; the tīrtha-glorification appears as the remedy in the adjacent verses of the same narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; it supports later emphasis on dāna and tīrtha-related observances.