Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

ये पापाः परदारेषु रक्ता मिष्टामिषेषु वा । तप्तलोहमयान्स्तंभांस्तेऽत्रालिंगंति मानवाः

Transliteration

ye pāpāḥ paradāreṣu raktā miṣṭāmiṣeṣu vā | taptalohamayānstaṃbhāṃste'trāliṃgaṃti mānavāḥ

Translation

جو گنہگار پرائی عورتوں میں مبتلا ہوں، یا مٹھائیوں اور گوشت کے لذیذ کھانوں کے دلدادہ ہوں، وہ یہاں دہکتے لوہے کے ستونوں سے لپٹنے پر مجبور کیے جاتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• pāpāḥ: sinners
• pāpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• para-dāreṣu: in others' wives
• para-dāreṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• raktāḥ: attached/passionate
• raktāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √rañj + kta)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; विशेषणम्

• miṣṭa-āmiṣeṣu: in sweet meats/flesh
• miṣṭa-āmiṣeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: miṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• tapta-loha-mayān: heated-iron-made
• tapta-loha-mayān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + loha (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• staṃbhān: pillars
• staṃbhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: staṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• āliṅganti: embrace/clasp
• āliṅganti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√liṅg (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• mānavāḥ: men/humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Condemned sinners are compelled to embrace blazing iron pillars; skin scorches, sparks fly, attendants drive them forward; the scene emphasizes forced contact with heat as karmic mirror of illicit ‘embrace’.

Characters & Entities

• Duḥsaha (implied context)
• Others' wives (paradāra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained lust and compulsive sense-indulgence lead to intense suffering; dharma upholds self-control and fidelity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific pilgrimage site is named in this shloka; it is a moral-legal warning embedded in a māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the implied remedy in Purāṇic dharma is restraint, repentance, and charitable, sattvic living.