Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

चंडालनिलयं प्राप्तः क्षुत्तृषापीडितो भृशम् । तत्रापश्यन्मृतं श्वानं शुष्कं पार्थिवसत्तम

Transliteration

caṃḍālanilayaṃ prāptaḥ kṣuttṛṣāpīḍito bhṛśam | tatrāpaśyanmṛtaṃ śvānaṃ śuṣkaṃ pārthivasattama

Translation

ถูกความหิวและความกระหายบีบคั้นอย่างยิ่ง เขามาถึงเรือนของจัณฑาละ ที่นั่นเขาเห็นสุนัขตายตัวหนึ่ง แห้งกรัง—โอ้พระราชาผู้ประเสริฐยิ่ง

Word by Word

• चंडालनिलयम्: the abode of caṇḍālas
• चंडालनिलयम्: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक) + निलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘चण्डालानां निलयः’ (abode of outcastes)

• प्राप्तः: having reached
• प्राप्तः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप्त (कृदन्त; √प्राप् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘having reached’

• क्षुत्तृषापीडितः: afflicted by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्तृषापीडितः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + तृषा (प्रातिपदिक) + पीडित (कृदन्त; √पीड् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘क्षुत्-तृषाभ्याम् पीडितः’ (afflicted by hunger and thirst)

• भृशम्: excessively
• भृशम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘excessively, greatly’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Place adverb/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place): ‘there’

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• मृतम्: dead
• मृतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त; √मृ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘dead’ (qualifies श्वानम्)

• श्वानम्: a dog
• श्वानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• शुष्कम्: dry, withered
• शुष्कम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘dry’ (qualifies श्वानम्)

• पार्थिवसत्तम: O best of kings
• पार्थिवसत्तम: Sambodhana (Vocative/संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘पार्थिवः सत्तमः’ (O best of kings)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; precise speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched, desperate man arrives at a marginal settlement; near a hut lies a dried carcass of a dog, stark and unsettling, while the man’s gaze fixes upon it in desperation.

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍāla
• King (pārthiva-sattama)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Extreme distress can push beings toward adharma; the Purāṇa sets the stage to show how impurity in food and conduct disrupts cosmic and ritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Arbuda Khaṇḍa within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; the immediate line is narrative rather than direct tīrtha-praise, but it supports the broader mahātmya framework of sacred geography and dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it introduces a situation involving forbidden/impure food that later impacts yajña and Agni.