Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

एते पर्वतरा जानो देवगन्धर्वसेविताः । युगान्ताग्निविनिर्दग्धाः सर्वे शीर्णमहाशिलाः

Transliteration

ete parvatarā jāno devagandharvasevitāḥ | yugāntāgnivinirdagdhāḥ sarve śīrṇamahāśilāḥ

Translation

এই পর্বতরাজগণ দেব ও গন্ধর্বদের দ্বারা সেবিত ছিলেন; যুগান্তের অগ্নিতে দগ্ধ হয়ে সকলের মহাশিলা ভেঙে চূর্ণ হয়ে গেল।

Word by Word

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

• पर्वतराः: mountains (great ones)
• पर्वतराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत + र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; 'पर्वतर' = पर्वत-सम्बद्ध/पर्वत-श्रेष्ठ (contextual)

• जानो: I know
• जानो: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; रूपम्: जानामि (पाठभेद/सन्धि-लोपेन 'जानो')

• देवगन्धर्वसेविताः: served by gods and gandharvas
• देवगन्धर्वसेविताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव + गन्धर्व + सेवित (सेव् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि प्रयोग (served/attended); समासः: देवगन्धर्वैः सेविताः

• युगान्ताग्निविनिर्दग्धाः: burnt by the fire at the end of the age
• युगान्ताग्निविनिर्दग्धाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युगान्त + अग्नि + विनिर्दग्ध (दह् धातु, क्त; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय; समासः: युगान्ते अग्निना विनिर्दग्धाः

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• शीर्णमहाशिलाः: with crumbled great rocks
• शीर्णमहाशिलाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीर्ण (शॄ धातु, क्त; कृदन्त) + महाशिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः: शीर्णाः महाशिलाः (whose great rocks are crumbled)

Speaker

Narrator in the Revā Khaṇḍa (contextual purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the māhātmya)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (kingly interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Towering mountains crack and crumble under sheets of cosmic flame; devas and gandharvas appear as small, helpless witnesses in the smoky sky; boulders split like shattered crowns.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Gandharvas
• Yugānta-agni (end-of-age fire)
• Mountains

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the most exalted and divine-attended features of the world are impermanent; this amplifies the exceptional, divinely guarded status of the tīrtha celebrated in the chapter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The implied focus remains the Revā/Narmadā tīrtha, whose greatness is highlighted by contrast with perishing mountains.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed in this verse; it continues the pralaya-description for māhātmya emphasis.