Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

अतिबीभत्सनरके पात्यते यमकिंकरैः । स्नाति चेद्धनुषः कोटौ तस्मिन्नासौ निपात्यते

Transliteration

atibībhatsanarake pātyate yamakiṃkaraiḥ | snāti ceddhanuṣaḥ koṭau tasminnāsau nipātyate

Translation

บริวารของยมราชโยนเขาลงสู่นรกอันน่ารังเกียจยิ่งนัก แม้เขาจะอาบน้ำที่ธนุษ-โกฏิ ณ เสตุ เขาก็ยังตกลงสู่ที่เดิมนั้นเอง

Word by Word

• ati-bībhatsa-narake: in an extremely disgusting hell
• ati-bībhatsa-narake: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati + bībhatsa + naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ati-bībhatsaḥ narakaḥ)

• pātyate: is made to fall
• pātyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः

• yama-kiṃkaraiḥ: by Yama’s servants
• yama-kiṃkaraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama + kiṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (yamasya kiṃkarāḥ)

• snāti: bathes
• snāti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक-निपातः

• dhanuṣaḥ: of a bow
• dhanuṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• koṭau: at the tip/end
• koṭau: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• tasmin: there
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपातः

• asau: that person
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nipātyate: is cast down
• nipātyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + pat (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhanus-koṭi (at Setu/Setubandha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama’s servants hurl a sinner into an extremely loathsome hell; in the foreground, the same person is shown bathing at Dhanus-koṭi, creating a moral diptych: sacred sea vs infernal pit, emphasizing that snāna without reform does not avert punishment.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamakiṃkara
• Setu
• Dhanuskoṭi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha merit is great, but certain entrenched sins are portrayed as dragging one to punishment despite external rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu, specifically Dhanus-koṭi, is referenced as a famed bathing spot.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Dhanus-koṭi is mentioned (as a known rite), yet declared ineffective for the implied offender.