Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

संदंशो द्वादशश्चायं तथाऽभक्ष्यप्रभक्षकाः । लोहदंतमुखैर्गृधैर्भक्ष्यंतेऽत्र नराधमाः

Transliteration

saṃdaṃśo dvādaśaścāyaṃ tathā'bhakṣyaprabhakṣakāḥ | lohadaṃtamukhairgṛdhairbhakṣyaṃte'tra narādhamāḥ

Translation

ഇത് പന്ത്രണ്ടാമത്തെ നരകം ‘സന്ദംശ’. ഇവിടെ ഭക്ഷിക്കരുതാത്തതു ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്ന അധമർ ഇരുമ്പുപല്ലും കൊക്കും ഉള്ള കഴുകന്മാർക്കാൽ ഭക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• saṃdaṃśaḥ: Saṃdaṃśa (name of hell)
• saṃdaṃśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dvādaśaḥ: twelfth
• dvādaśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

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

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण/समुच्चयार्थ (thus/also)

• abhakṣya-prabhakṣakāḥ: eaters of what should not be eaten
• abhakṣya-prabhakṣakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-bhakṣaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• loha-danta-mukhaiḥ: with iron teeth and mouths
• loha-danta-mukhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loha (प्रातिपदिक) + danta (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (gṛdhaiḥ इति विशेष्य)

• gṛdhaiḥ: by vultures
• gṛdhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• bhakṣyante: are eaten/devoured
• bhakṣyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• narādhamāḥ: worst of men
• narādhamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The twelfth hell Saṃdaṃśa: iron-beaked, iron-toothed vultures tear and devour those who ate forbidden foods; the air is thick with ash and the clang of metal beaks.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃdaṃśa (Naraka)
• Vultures (gṛdhra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes restraint in diet; violating sacred food-boundaries (abhakṣya) is treated as a serious ethical-spiritual breach.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is identified in this verse; it is a dharma-warning within the Tīrthamāhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied prescription is śuddha-āhāra (pure diet) and adherence to dhārmic food rules.