Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

आद्योऽयं रौरवो नाम नरको द्विजसत्तम । प्रतप्ततैलकुंभेषु पच्यंते यत्र जंतवः

Transliteration

ādyo'yaṃ rauravo nāma narako dvijasattama | prataptatailakuṃbheṣu pacyaṃte yatra jaṃtavaḥ

Translation

ஹே த்விஜசத்தமா! முதல் நரகம் ‘ரௌரவ’ எனப்படும். அங்கே உயிர்கள் கொதிக்கும் தீவெப்ப எண்ணெய் நிரம்பிய பாத்திரங்களில் வேகவைக்கப்படுகின்றனர்.

Word by Word

• आद्यः: the first
• आद्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘नरकः’)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रौरवः: Raurava (name of a hell)
• रौरवः: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नरक-नाम (proper name)

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (quotative/‘by name’)

• नरकः: hell
• नरकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• द्विजसत्तम: O best of brāhmaṇas
• द्विजसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija-sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (द्विजेषु सत्तमः); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रतप्ततैलकुम्भेषु: in pots of heated oil
• प्रतप्ततैलकुम्भेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratapta-taila-kumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रतप्तं तैलं यस्मिन् कुम्भे/प्रतप्ततैलकुम्भः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पच्यन्ते: are cooked, are boiled
• पच्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive: ‘are cooked’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक सम्बन्ध (relative adverb: where)

• जन्तवः: creatures, beings
• जन्तवः: Karta (Subject in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Yama (Dharmarāja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Raurava

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The first hell, Raurava: massive iron cauldrons brimming with boiling oil; beings are forced within, flames roaring beneath; Yama narrates with stern composure while the brāhmaṇa recoils in horror and pity.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Raurava (Naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vivid descriptions of punishment are meant to restrain cruelty and theft-like harms by instilling fear of karmic retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is naraka description within a māhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a cosmological-ethical description.