Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

मध्येऽथ दंडकारण्यं क्षुत्क्षामः संगवर्जितः । व्याघ्रेण घातितस्तत्र नरमांसप्रियेण सः

Transliteration

madhye'tha daṃḍakāraṇyaṃ kṣutkṣāmaḥ saṃgavarjitaḥ | vyāghreṇa ghātitastatra naramāṃsapriyeṇa saḥ

Translation

กลางทาง ในป่าทัณฑกะ เขาอ่อนแรงด้วยความหิวและไร้สหาย ที่นั่นเขาถูกเสือผู้หลงใหลเนื้อมนุษย์สังหารลง

Word by Word

• मध्ये: in the midst
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमार्थक (then)

• दण्डकारण्यम्: the Daṇḍaka forest
• दण्डकारण्यम्: Karma (Object/goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दण्डक + अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—दण्डकानाम् अरण्यम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• क्षुत्क्षामः: emaciated from hunger
• क्षुत्क्षामः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् + क्षाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—क्षुत् (भूख) + क्षामः (क्षीणः) (कर्मधारय)

• संगवर्जितः: devoid of companionship
• संगवर्जितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सङ्ग + वर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—सङ्गेन विवर्जितः (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• व्याघ्रेण: by a tiger
• व्याघ्रेण: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• घातितः: was killed
• घातितः: Kriya (Predicate in passive/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) + घातित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (causative passive participle: घातित), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• नरमांसप्रियेण: fond of human flesh
• नरमांसप्रियेण: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर + मांस + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—नरमांसस्य प्रियः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Maheśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daṇḍakāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viṣṇu

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In dense forest, a starving lone man is attacked by a fierce tiger; dramatic chiaroscuro, motion and terror, emphasizing the suddenness of death in wilderness.

Characters & Entities

• Daṇḍakāraṇya
• tiger (vyāghra)
• Vāhīka (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Isolation, hunger, and violent death are portrayed as the grim fruit of a life unmoored from dharma and daily sacred discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daṇḍakāraṇya is the named locale; it is not praised here as a tīrtha but used as the setting for karmic consequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates the circumstance of death.