Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

यूयं स्त्रीवधपापेन युक्ताः सन्तस्ततः परम् । नरकं रौरवं दुर्गं गमिष्यथ सुनिश्चितम्

Transliteration

yūyaṃ strīvadhapāpena yuktāḥ santastataḥ param | narakaṃ rauravaṃ durgaṃ gamiṣyatha suniścitam

Translation

तुम्ही स्त्रीवधाच्या पापाने कलुषित झाल्यावर, पुढे निश्चयच दुर्गम रौरव नरकात जाल—हे ठाम आहे।

Word by Word

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; पुरुषवाचक-सर्वनाम

• strī-vadha-pāpena: by the sin of killing women
• strī-vadha-pāpena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + vadha (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्त्रीवधस्य पापेन)

• yuktāḥ: tainted/connected
• yuktāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय (युज् धातोः), ‘joined/tainted’

• santaḥ: being
• santaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; शतृ/वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (अस् धातोः), ‘being’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = thereafter/then

• param: afterwards
• param: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (क्रियाविशेषण) = afterwards/further; मूलतः विशेषण ‘पर’

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• rauravam: Raurava (a dreadful hell)
• rauravam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (narakam qualifies)

• durgam: hard to escape
• durgam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• gamiṣyatha: you will go
• gamiṣyatha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• suniścitam: certainly
• suniścitam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + niścita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (क्रियाविशेषण) = certainly; मूलतः नपुंसक एकवचन विशेषण ‘सुनिश्चितम्’ (well-determined)

Speaker

Unspecified in the excerpt (women in the narrative, warning the offenders)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark admonition: figures recoil as the warning of Raurava hell is pronounced; in the background, a symbolic vision of fiery torment contrasts with the calm of a sacred landscape, emphasizing moral consequence.

Characters & Entities

• Raurava (Naraka)
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Grave adharma—especially violence against the vulnerable—brings severe karmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya cycle of the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse states a karmic warning rather than a rite.