Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

पाशपाणेकशापाणे बद्ध्वैतांश्चरणेदृढम् । घातयंतौ कशाघातैर्नयतं तप्तकर्दमे

Transliteration

pāśapāṇekaśāpāṇe baddhvaitāṃścaraṇedṛḍham | ghātayaṃtau kaśāghātairnayataṃ taptakardame

Translation

Hỡi kẻ cầm thòng lọng và kẻ cầm roi, hãy trói chặt chân chúng lại, quất chúng bằng roi và lôi chúng vào vũng bùn rực cháy.

Word by Word

• पाशपाणि: O one holding a noose
• पाशपाणि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक) + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पाशः पाणौ यस्य’) (masculine; vocative singular)

• एकशापाणि: O one holding a single whip
• एकशापाणि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + शा (प्रातिपदिक; ‘कशा’/whip) + पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘एकशा पाणौ यस्य’) (masculine; vocative singular)

• बद्ध्वा: having bound
• बद्ध्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्ध (क्त) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (absolutive/gerund: ‘having bound’)

• एतान्: these (men)
• एतान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), बहुवचन (masculine; accusative plural; pronoun)

• चरणे: at the feet
• चरणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन (masculine; locative singular)

• दृढम्: firmly
• दृढम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृढ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (neuter; accusative singular used adverbially ‘firmly’)

• घातयन्तौ: you two, striking/causing to be beaten
• घातयन्तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: घातय (णिजन्त; √हन्/घात् causative)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष?—न; वर्तमानकालिक कृदन्त-प्राय: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) द्विवचन, प्रथमा; ‘घातयन्तौ’ = (युवाम्) घातयन्तौ (masculine; nominative dual; ‘while causing to be struck’)

• कशाघातैः: with whip-blows
• कशाघातैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कशा (प्रातिपदिक) + घात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कशाया घाताः’) (masculine; instrumental plural)

• नयतम्: lead (them)
• नयतम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), द्विवचन (dual) (imperative: ‘lead!’)

• तप्तकर्दमे: into hot mud
• तप्तकर्दमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तप्त (कृदन्त; √तप्/तप्) + कर्दम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘तप्तः कर्दमः’) (masculine; locative singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two Yama-dūtas—one with a noose, one with a whip—bind the condemned by the feet, lash him, and drag him toward a steaming, burning mire; the ground is cracked, smoke rises, and the victim’s footprints smear into sludge.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadūta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cruel consequences follow cruelty and adharma; the Purāṇa uses vivid imagery to urge moral restraint and repentance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī—this discourse belongs to the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where liberation and moral accountability are framed around Vārāṇasī’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it functions as a warning narrative within the afterlife teaching.