Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

आलिंगंति दुरात्मानः परदाररतास्तु ये । एते वैतरणीमध्ये पूयशोणितसंकुले

Transliteration

āliṃgaṃti durātmānaḥ paradāraratāstu ye | ete vaitaraṇīmadhye pūyaśoṇitasaṃkule

Translation

وہ بدروح لوگ جو پرائی عورت میں لذت ڈھونڈتے تھے، عذاب میں لپٹنے پر مجبور کیے جاتے ہیں؛ وہ ویتَرَنی کے بیچ رہتے ہیں، جو پیپ اور خون سے بھری ہوئی ہے۔

Word by Word

• आलिङ्गन्ति: embrace
• आलिङ्गन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+√लिङ्ग् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• दुरात्मानः: evil-souled ones
• दुरात्मानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पर-दार-रताः: addicted to others’ wives
• पर-दार-रताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + रत (कृदन्त; √रम् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘दुरात्मानः’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वैतरणी-मध्ये: in the midst of Vaitaraṇī (river)
• वैतरणी-मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतरणी (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• पूय-शोणित-संकुले: filled with pus and blood
• पूय-शोणित-संकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूय (प्रातिपदिक) + शोणित (प्रातिपदिक) + संकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘मध्ये’/अधिकरणस्य

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa witness

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Adulterous men are shown compelled into a grotesque ‘embrace’ while submerged in the Vaitaraṇī—an infernal river thick with pus and blood—under the watch of attendants; the river’s current symbolizes inescapable karmic flow.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Vaitaraṇī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sexual misconduct that violates another household’s sanctity is a serious breach of dharma and leads to severe karmic suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the Māhātmya uses such depictions to inspire dharmic living alongside pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied discipline is brahmacarya/saṃyama (restraint) and respect for gṛhastha-dharma.