Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

एते नरक विभ्रष्टा भुक्त्वा योनीः सहस्रशः । एवंविधैश्चिह्निताश्च जायंते लक्षणैर्नराः

Transliteration

ete naraka vibhraṣṭā bhuktvā yonīḥ sahasraśaḥ | evaṃvidhaiścihnitāśca jāyaṃte lakṣaṇairnarāḥ

Translation

ഇവർ നരകത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പതിതരായി, ആയിരക്കണക്കിന് യോനികൾ അനുഭവിച്ച്, ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള ചിഹ്നലക്ഷണങ്ങളാൽ മുദ്രിതരായി മനുഷ്യരിൽ ജന്മിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — demonstrative pronoun

• naraka: from hell
• naraka: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th) एकवचन (विभ्रष्टाः इत्यस्य अपादानार्थे) — ‘from hell’ (often narakāt expected; here poetic/variant)

• vibhraṣṭāḥ: fallen
• vibhraṣṭāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-bhraṃś (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — past participle used adjectivally ‘fallen/deviated’

• bhuktvā: having undergone
• bhuktvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhuj (धातु) + ktvā (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having experienced/enjoyed’

• yonīḥ: wombs/births
• yonīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — object of bhuktvā

• sahasraśaḥ: by thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — distributive ‘by thousands/innumerably’

• evaṃvidhaiḥ: by such (types of)
• evaṃvidhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: evaṃvidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental ‘by such’

• cihnitāḥ: marked
• cihnitāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cihn (धातु) + ita (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/इत-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘marked’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction) — ‘and’

• jāyante: are born
• jāyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद — ‘are born/come into being’

• lakṣaṇaiḥ: with characteristics
• lakṣaṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental ‘with/by marks’

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — subject

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-context (Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cyclical montage: souls emerge from a dark naraka realm, pass through countless wombs, and finally appear as humans bearing visible ‘signs’—a visual metaphor for karmic imprinting on the body and fate.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma follows the soul across births; even after suffering naraka, residual tendencies can appear as visible marks in human life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced; the verse discusses karmic anthropology rather than sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied prescription is to pursue dharma to avoid naraka and repeated painful embodiments.