Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

रौरवोऽथ सुविख्यातो दारुणो नरको महान् । ब्रह्मघ्नानां समादिष्टः स महाक्लेशकारकः

Transliteration

rauravo'tha suvikhyāto dāruṇo narako mahān | brahmaghnānāṃ samādiṣṭaḥ sa mahākleśakārakaḥ

Translation

ถัดไปคือนรกโรรวะที่มีชื่อเสียง ซึ่งเป็นนรกที่ยิ่งใหญ่และน่าสะพรึงกลัว กำหนดไว้สำหรับผู้สังหารพราหมณ์ มันเป็นสาเหตุของความทุกข์ทรมานอย่างแสนสาหัส

Word by Word

• rauravaḥ: Raurava (hell)
• rauravaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• atha: then/now
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/प्रस्तावबोधक)

• suvikhyātaḥ: well-known
• suvikhyātaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + vikhyāta (प्रातिपदिक; vikhyāta < vi-√khyā कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dāruṇaḥ: terrible
• dāruṇaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• narakaḥ: hell
• narakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mahān: great
• mahān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• brahmaghnānām: of Brahmin-killers
• brahmaghnānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + ghnā (प्रातिपदिक; ghnā < √han)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; षष्ठीतत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः घ्नाः = slayers of a Brahmin)

• samādiṣṭaḥ: assigned/ordained
• samādiṣṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-√diś (धातु) → samādiṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नियुक्तः/निर्दिष्टः = assigned

• saḥ: that (it/he)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mahākleśakārakaḥ: causing great torment
• mahākleśakārakaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + kleśa + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठीतत्पुरुषः/उपपदसमासः (महान् क्लेशः यस्य/क्लेशं करोति)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Raurava (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast infernal expanse labeled Raurava: blazing ground, iron implements, terrifying wardens; the condemned marked by the stigma of brahmahatyā; atmosphere of dread and moral warning.

Characters & Entities

• Raurava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain acts are classified as mahāpātakas; the Purāṇa underscores their heavy karmic weight and the necessity of rigorous dharma and atonement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it introduces a naraka (Raurava) within the chapter’s didactic narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it identifies the hell assigned for brahmahatyā.