Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 30
तदधो नरकाः कोट्यो द्विकोट्योऽग्निस्ततो महान् । चत्वारिंशत्सहस्रैश्च तदधस्तम उच्यते
tadadho narakāḥ koṭyo dvikoṭyo'gnistato mahān | catvāriṃśatsahasraiśca tadadhastama ucyate
तदधः कोट्यः नरकाः सन्ति; ततोऽधो द्विकोटिमितो महान् अग्निः। तदधश्च चत्वारिंशत्सहस्रपर्यन्ते ‘तमः’ इति प्रसिद्धं स्थानम् उच्यते।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)
Listener: Bhārata (addressed)
Scene: A vertical cosmological cutaway: above, faint earth; below, stacked strata—countless hells, then a vast blazing fire, then an abyssal region labeled Tamas, rendered as near-total darkness with only ember-glow at the boundary.
FAQs
The layered depiction of suffering and darkness emphasizes the seriousness of adharma and the need for righteous, śāstra-guided life.
None; this is cosmological narration in a naraka context.
None in this verse.