Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अविचार्य ततः सर्वैराभीरैस्तैर्दुरात्मभिः । शूलीमारोपितः सद्यो नीत्वा किंचिद्वनांतरम्

Transliteration

avicārya tataḥ sarvairābhīraistairdurātmabhiḥ | śūlīmāropitaḥ sadyo nītvā kiṃcidvanāṃtaram

Translation

แล้วเหล่าอาภีระผู้ใจชั่วทั้งปวง มิได้ไตร่ตรองให้ถ้วนถี่ ก็พากันพาเขาไปยังที่ลึกในป่า แล้วทันใดนั้นก็ตอกเสียบเขาขึ้นบนหลักสูลี

Word by Word

• अविचार्य: without considering
• अविचार्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-चर् (धातु) + अवि- (उपसर्ग/निषेध) ; अविचार्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘अविचार्य’ = ‘विचारं न कृत्वा’ (having not considered)

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘thereupon/then/from that’

• सर्वैः: by all
• सर्वैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by all’ (instrumental plural)

• आभीरैः: by the Ābhīras
• आभीरैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by the Ābhīras (cowherds/tribe)’

• तैः: by those
• तैः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by those’ (referring to the same agents)

• दुरात्मभिः: by wicked men
• दुरात्मभिः: Karta (Agent, in passive construction)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ‘by wicked-souled (men)’

• शूलीम्: Śūlin (Śiva)
• शूलीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘the one with a trident / Śiva’ (object of action)

• आरोपितः: was impaled/placed upon (a stake)
• आरोपितः: Kriyā (Main predicate, passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-रुह् (धातु) → आरोपित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘having been impaled/placed upon’ (passive sense)

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• नीत्वा: having taken/led
• नीत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having taken/led’

• किंचित्: some
• किंचित्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः ‘some/a certain’

• वनान्तरम्: into a forest interior
• वनान्तरम्: Karma (Goal/object of leading)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘वनस्य अन्तरम्’ = ‘interior of a forest’

Speaker

Sūta (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dark forest clearing: rough Ābhīra men drag a restrained ascetic/innocent figure; a sharpened stake stands upright; the moment of impalement is shown with restrained gore, emphasizing injustice and dread.

Characters & Entities

• Māṇḍavya
• Ābhīras
• Śūlī (stake/impalement)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Avicāra—acting without investigation—leads to grave injustice, a core warning in Purāṇic dharma narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Though the act occurs in a forest nearby, the larger teaching unfolds within the Viśvāmitrī Tīrtha māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts adharma (violent punishment without inquiry), setting up later moral-theological resolution.