Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

एते नरक विभ्रष्टा भुक्त्वा योनीः सहस्रशः । एवंविधैश्चिह्निताश्च जायंते लक्षणैर्नराः

Transliteration

ete naraka vibhraṣṭā bhuktvā yonīḥ sahasraśaḥ | evaṃvidhaiścihnitāśca jāyaṃte lakṣaṇairnarāḥ

Translation

ਇਹ ਨਰਕ ਤੋਂ ਡਿੱਗੇ ਹੋਏ, ਹਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਜਨਮਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਯੋਨੀਆਂ ਭੋਗ ਕੇ, ਮਨੁੱਖਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੀ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨਾਂ ਤੇ ਲੱਛਣਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹਿਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਜਨਮ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — demonstrative pronoun

• naraka: from hell
• naraka: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th) एकवचन (विभ्रष्टाः इत्यस्य अपादानार्थे) — ‘from hell’ (often narakāt expected; here poetic/variant)

• vibhraṣṭāḥ: fallen
• vibhraṣṭāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-bhraṃś (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — past participle used adjectivally ‘fallen/deviated’

• bhuktvā: having undergone
• bhuktvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhuj (धातु) + ktvā (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having experienced/enjoyed’

• yonīḥ: wombs/births
• yonīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — object of bhuktvā

• sahasraśaḥ: by thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — distributive ‘by thousands/innumerably’

• evaṃvidhaiḥ: by such (types of)
• evaṃvidhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: evaṃvidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental ‘by such’

• cihnitāḥ: marked
• cihnitāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cihn (धातु) + ita (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/इत-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘marked’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction) — ‘and’

• jāyante: are born
• jāyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद — ‘are born/come into being’

• lakṣaṇaiḥ: with characteristics
• lakṣaṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — instrumental ‘with/by marks’

• narāḥ: men
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — subject

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-context (Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cyclical montage: souls emerge from a dark naraka realm, pass through countless wombs, and finally appear as humans bearing visible ‘signs’—a visual metaphor for karmic imprinting on the body and fate.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma follows the soul across births; even after suffering naraka, residual tendencies can appear as visible marks in human life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced; the verse discusses karmic anthropology rather than sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied prescription is to pursue dharma to avoid naraka and repeated painful embodiments.