Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

एष षोडश उद्दिष्टो नरको नाम क्षुद्रदः । युधार्तैर्मानवैर्व्याप्तः समंताद्द्विजसत्तम

Transliteration

eṣa ṣoḍaśa uddiṣṭo narako nāma kṣudradaḥ | yudhārtairmānavairvyāptaḥ samaṃtāddvijasattama

Translation

اے بہترینِ دِوِج! یہ سولہواں نرک قرار دیا گیا ہے، جس کا نام ‘کْشودرد’ ہے؛ یہ ہر سمت جنگ کی اذیت میں مبتلا انسانوں سے بھرا ہوا ہے۔

Word by Word

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteenth
• ṣoḍaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-शब्दः; विशेषणम् (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• uddiṣṭaḥ: is declared
• uddiṣṭaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√diś (दिश् धातु) → uddiṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘indicated/declared’

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

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Naming/संज्ञा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (particle: ‘named/called’)

• kṣudradaḥ: (the hell) ‘Kṣudrada’
• kṣudradaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudra (प्रातिपदिक) + da (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त ‘giver’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्षुद्रं ददाति/क्षुद्रदः)

• yudhā-ārtaiḥ: by those distressed by war
• yudhā-ārtaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhā (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत् ‘by battle’) + ārta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (युधया आर्ताः)

• mānavaiḥ: by humans
• mānavaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• vyāptaḥ: is filled/pervaded
• vyāptaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ā-√āp (आप् धातु) → vyāpta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘pervaded/filled’

• samantāt: on all sides
• samantāt: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सर्वतः-अर्थे (adverb: ‘on all sides’)

• dvija-sattama: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘श्रेष्ठः द्विजः’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣudrada (Ṣoḍaśa-naraka)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattama (addressed Brahmin interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak hellscape named Kṣudrada: warriors and men scarred by battle stagger amid a ring of oppressive forces; weapons and banners appear as haunting remnants, and the air itself seems filled with the pain of combat.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣudrada (name of a naraka)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cruelty and violent entanglement lead to continuing torment; dharma urges restraint and righteous conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse does not name a tīrtha; it continues the naraka enumeration within the Tīrthamāhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse names the naraka and describes its occupants.