Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

रोरूयमाणैर्दाहार्तैः पच्यमानै र्हविर्भुजा । खंडशः क्रियमाणैश्च तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैरनेकधा

Transliteration

rorūyamāṇairdāhārtaiḥ pacyamānai rhavirbhujā | khaṃḍaśaḥ kriyamāṇaiśca tīkṣṇaśastrairanekadhā

Translation

وہاں وہ بلند آواز سے چیختے چلاتے ہیں، جلنے کی اذیت سے تڑپتے ہیں؛ ہوی بھوجا آگ انہیں گویا پکا دیتی ہے؛ اور تیز ہتھیاروں سے طرح طرح سے ٹکڑے ٹکڑے کیے جاتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• रोरूयमाणैः: by those wailing
• रोरूयमाणैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रु (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle) ‘रोरूयमाण’

• दाहार्तैः: by those distressed by burning
• दाहार्तैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दाह + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); 'दाहेन आर्ताः'

• पच्यमानैः: by those being cooked
• पच्यमानैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पच् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि-वर्तमानकृदन्त (passive present participle)

• हविर्भुजा: by the fire (eater of oblations)
• हविर्भुजा: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् + भुज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (Instrumental singular); 'हविः भुङ्क्ते' इति (fire)

• खण्डशः: piecemeal
• खण्डशः: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: खण्डशः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in pieces)

• क्रियमाणैः: by those being cut up/made (into pieces)
• क्रियमाणैः: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि-वर्तमानकृदन्त (being done/made)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैः: with sharp weapons
• तीक्ष्णशस्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीक्ष्ण + शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-बहुवचन (Instrumental plural); 'तीक्ष्णानि शस्त्राणि'

• अनेकधा: in many ways
• अनेकधा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकधा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in many ways)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāraurava

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A furnace-like infernal chamber: flames personified as ‘havirbhuj’ engulf the wailing; sharp blades descend from all sides, fragmenting bodies in a stylized, allegorical manner; emphasis on heat, noise, and inevitability.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (as havirbhuj)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions opposed to dharma bear painful results; the Purāṇas teach restraint through vivid karmic imagery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it continues a naraka-description within the larger Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive (phala/daṇḍa) rather than prescriptive (vidhi).