Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

सूचीभेद्येऽथ संदंशे लालापे क्षुरधारके । प्रत्येकं नरके त्वेष पात्यतां कल्पसंख्यया

Transliteration

sūcībhedye'tha saṃdaṃśe lālāpe kṣuradhārake | pratyekaṃ narake tveṣa pātyatāṃ kalpasaṃkhyayā

Translation

—സൂചീഭേദ്യ, തുടർന്ന് സംദംശ, ലാലാപ, ക്ഷുരധാരക—ഓരോ നരകത്തിലേക്കും അവനെ ഒന്നൊന്നായി കല്പസംഖ്യകാലം വീഴ്ത്തപ്പെടട്ടെ.

Word by Word

• सूचीभेद्ये: in Sūcībhedya (needle-piercing hell)
• सूचीभेद्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूची-भेद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सूच्याः भेद्यः/भेदनयोग्यः)

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Discourse connector (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रम/समुच्चयार्थक (then/and)

• संदंशे: in Saṃdaṃśa (hell of pincers)
• संदंशे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संदंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• लालापे: in Lālāpa (hell)
• लालापे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लालाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• क्षुरधारके: in Kṣuradhāraka (razor-edged hell)
• क्षुरधारके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुर-धारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (क्षुरस्य धारः/धारकः)

• प्रत्येकम्: each (separately)
• प्रत्येकम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति-एक (अव्ययभावेन)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्ययीभावसमास (प्रति + एकम्) = ‘each, one by one’

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• एषः: this (person)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पात्यताम्: let (him) be cast down
• पात्यताम्: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive): ‘let him be made to fall/ be cast’

• कल्पसंख्यया: for a number of kalpas
• कल्पसंख्यया: Karana/Measure (करण/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प-संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कल्पानां संख्या)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) implied as deliverance from long saṃsāric suffering

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa frame (not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grim procession through needle-piercing torment (Sūcībhedya), crushing with tongs/presses (Saṃdaṃśa), a realm of drooling/forced saliva and thirst (Lālāpa), and razor-edge pathways (Kṣuradhāraka); above, a cosmic clock motif indicating ‘kalpa-sankhyā’.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Naraka realms: Sūcībhedya
• Saṃdaṃśa
• Lālāpa
• Kṣuradhāraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent adharma yields prolonged and repeated suffering; moral accountability is inescapable in the Purāṇic vision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named; the focus is on naraka consequences within the Kāśī narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it is a judicial pronouncement of punishment.