Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

एकादशोऽपरश्चायमाकर्षाख्यः प्रकीर्तितः । नरको विप्रशार्दूल तप्तसंदंशसंकुलः

Transliteration

ekādaśo'paraścāyamākarṣākhyaḥ prakīrtitaḥ | narako vipraśārdūla taptasaṃdaṃśasaṃkulaḥ

Translation

ହେ ବିପ୍ରଶାର୍ଦୂଳ! ଏହି ଅନ୍ୟ—ଏକାଦଶ—ନରକ ‘ଆକର୍ଷ’ ନାମରେ ପ୍ରକୀର୍ତ୍ତିତ। ଏହା ତପ୍ତ ସଣ୍ଡଶ ଓ ଚିମ୍ଟାରେ ସଂକୁଳ।

Word by Word

• ekādaśaḥ: eleventh
• ekādaśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• aparaḥ: another
• aparaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (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

• ākarṣa-ākhyaḥ: named ‘Ākarṣa’
• ākarṣa-ākhyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ākarṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• prakīrtitaḥ: is proclaimed
• prakīrtitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√kīrt (धातु) + kta → prakīrtita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP)

• narakaḥ: hell (Naraka)
• narakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vipra-śārdūla: O tiger among Brahmins
• vipra-śārdūla: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + śārdūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tapta-saṃdaṃśa-saṃkulaḥ: crowded with heated tongs
• tapta-saṃdaṃśa-saṃkulaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + saṃdaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor (vipraśārdūla addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The hell named Ākarṣa appears as a grim field filled with glowing red-hot tongs and pincers; instruments hang and lie in heaps; attendants pull souls toward them, emphasizing ‘dragging/attraction’ implied by the name.

Characters & Entities

• Ākarṣa (Naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa maps moral violations to fitting consequences, urging vigilance in righteous living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of a broader instructional passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this shloka; it introduces the hell and its instruments of punishment.