Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

स कालपाशनिर्बद्धो यमदूतैर्भयानकैः । तामिस्रनरके घोरे पात्यते बहुवत्सरम्

Transliteration

sa kālapāśanirbaddho yamadūtairbhayānakaiḥ | tāmisranarake ghore pātyate bahuvatsaram

Translation

เขาถูกมัดแน่นด้วยบ่วงแห่งกาลเวลา และถูกทูตแห่งยมผู้น่าสะพรึงกลัวจับกุม แล้วถูกเหวี่ยงลงสู่นรกตามิศระอันน่าหวาดผวาเป็นเวลาหลายปี

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun, masculine nominative singular

• कालपाशनिर्बद्धः: bound by the noose of Time
• कालपाशनिर्बद्धः: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + पाश + निर्बद्ध (√बन्ध् ‘to bind’ क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन — past participle (क्त) used adjectivally; (कालस्य पाशेन निर्बद्धः)

• यमदूतैः: by Yama’s messengers
• यमदूतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम + दूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन — masculine instrumental plural; (यमस्य दूतैः)

• भयानकैः: terrifying
• भयानकैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयानक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन — masculine instrumental plural; agrees with यमदूतैः

• तामिस्रनरके: in the Tāmisra hell
• तामिस्रनरके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तामिस्र + नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन — masculine locative singular; ‘Tāmisra’ as name qualifying naraka

• घोरे: dreadful
• घोरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन — masculine locative singular; agrees with नरके

• पात्यते: is cast down
• पात्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत्/√पातय् (धातु; causative passive)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive) — present, 3rd person singular passive ‘is made to fall/ is cast’

• बहुवत्सरम्: for many years
• बहुवत्सरम्: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु + वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन — masculine accusative singular; used adverbially as duration

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setu-khaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tāmisra (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya brāhmaṇas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yamadūtas—terrifying, dark-bodied attendants—drag a bound sinner caught in the ‘noose of Time’ and cast him into the pitch-black Tāmisra abyss for many years.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla
• Yama
• Yamadūta
• Tāmisra-naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrighteous acts draw the soul into Yama’s jurisdiction; time and death bind all, and karma determines the post-mortem path.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is punitive, but it stands within the Setu/Dhanuṣkoṭi Māhātmya discourse that contrasts sin’s fate with tīrtha-purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; it describes the karmic result (fall into Tāmisra) for severe wrongdoing.