Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

तरुकोटरगान्बद्ध्वा अन्याञ्छृंखलया तथा । शरौघैः काष्ठकैश्चैव बहुभिः शकलीकृतान्

Transliteration

tarukoṭaragānbaddhvā anyāñchṛṃkhalayā tathā | śaraughaiḥ kāṣṭhakaiścaiva bahubhiḥ śakalīkṛtān

Translation

काहींना झाडांच्या पोकळीत बांधले, तर इतरांना साखळ्यांनी जखडले; मग बाणांच्या वर्षावाने आणि अनेक काष्ठदंडांनी त्यांना तुकडे-तुकडे केले.

Word by Word

• tarukoṭaragān: those who are in tree-hollows
• tarukoṭaragān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taru (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭara (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (तान्/अन्याञ् इत्यादि); समासः—तरुकोटरगान् (तत्पुरुषः: ‘तरूणां कोटरे गच्छन्ति/स्थिताः’)

• baddhvā: having bound
• baddhvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √bandh (बन्ध्, धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• anyān: others
• anyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• śṛṅkhalayā: with a chain
• śṛṅkhalayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śṛṅkhalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• tathā: thus, likewise
• tathā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus/so)

• śaraughaiḥ: with volleys of arrows
• śaraughaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śara (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—शरौघैः (तत्पुरुषः: ‘शराणाम् ओघैः’ = showers/volleys of arrows)

• kāṣṭhakaiḥ: with pieces of wood/sticks
• kāṣṭhakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• bahubhiḥ: with many
• bahubhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषण (śaraughaiḥ/kāṣṭhakaiḥ)

• śakalīkṛtān: made into pieces, shattered
• śakalīkṛtān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śakala (प्रातिपदिक) + √kṛ (कृ, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (anyān/tarukoṭaragān)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Sūta’s recitation in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brutal scene: victims tied within tree hollows, others chained; arrows fly and wooden clubs strike, bodies shattered—depicting the perpetrator’s cruelty and the victims’ terror.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cruelty and unlawful violence are grave adharma and become causes for severe karmic downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra frames the narrative; the māhātmya uses such episodes to intensify the call to dharma in the sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive of wrongdoing and harm.