Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

एष षोडश उद्दिष्टो नरको नाम क्षुद्रदः । युधार्तैर्मानवैर्व्याप्तः समंताद्द्विजसत्तम

Transliteration

eṣa ṣoḍaśa uddiṣṭo narako nāma kṣudradaḥ | yudhārtairmānavairvyāptaḥ samaṃtāddvijasattama

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജസത്തമാ! ഇത് പതിനാറാമത്തെ നരകമെന്ന് ‘ക്ഷുദ്രദ’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു; യുദ്ധവേദനയിൽ പീഡിതരായ മനുഷ്യർ എല്ലാടവും ഇതിൽ നിറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

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

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteenth
• ṣoḍaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-शब्दः; विशेषणम् (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• uddiṣṭaḥ: is declared
• uddiṣṭaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√diś (दिश् धातु) → uddiṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘indicated/declared’

• narakaḥ: hell
• narakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Naming/संज्ञा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (particle: ‘named/called’)

• kṣudradaḥ: (the hell) ‘Kṣudrada’
• kṣudradaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudra (प्रातिपदिक) + da (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त ‘giver’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्षुद्रं ददाति/क्षुद्रदः)

• yudhā-ārtaiḥ: by those distressed by war
• yudhā-ārtaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhā (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत् ‘by battle’) + ārta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (युधया आर्ताः)

• mānavaiḥ: by humans
• mānavaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• vyāptaḥ: is filled/pervaded
• vyāptaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ā-√āp (आप् धातु) → vyāpta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘pervaded/filled’

• samantāt: on all sides
• samantāt: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सर्वतः-अर्थे (adverb: ‘on all sides’)

• dvija-sattama: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘श्रेष्ठः द्विजः’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣudrada (Ṣoḍaśa-naraka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak hellscape named Kṣudrada: warriors and men scarred by battle stagger amid a ring of oppressive forces; weapons and banners appear as haunting remnants, and the air itself seems filled with the pain of combat.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣudrada (name of a naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cruelty and violent entanglement lead to continuing torment; dharma urges restraint and righteous conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse does not name a tīrtha; it continues the naraka enumeration within the Tīrthamāhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse names the naraka and describes its occupants.