Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अनावृष्टिहते लोके संशुष्के स्थावरे चरे । भिन्ने युगादिकलने हाहाभूते विचेतने

Transliteration

anāvṛṣṭihate loke saṃśuṣke sthāvare care | bhinne yugādikalane hāhābhūte vicetane

Translation

Als die Welt von Dürre heimgesucht wurde — als bewegliche und unbewegliche Wesen verdorrten — als die Berechnung der Yugas und dergleichen zerbrach und alle in Wehklage und Verwirrung verfielen…

Word by Word

• अनावृष्टि-हते: in (a world) struck by drought
• अनावृष्टि-हते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनावृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक) + हत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; लोक इति विशेष्ये सप्तमी; तत्पुरुषः—‘अनावृष्ट्या हतः’

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संशुष्के: completely dried up
• संशुष्के: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संशुष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; लोके इति विशेषणम्

• स्थावरे: among the immobile beings
• स्थावरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थावर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समुच्चयार्थे ‘स्थावरे (च) चरे’—स्थावर-चरयोः

• चरे: among the moving beings
• चरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; स्थावरे इति सह समाहार/समुच्चय

• भिन्ने: disrupted, broken
• भिन्ने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिन्न (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (लोके) इति विशेषणम्—‘split/disrupted’

• युग-आदि-कलने: in the calculation of yugas and the like
• युग-आदि-कलने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + कलन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘युगादीनां कलने’ (in the reckoning of yugas etc.)

• हाहा-भूते: turned into lamentation (‘hāhā’)
• हाहा-भूते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाहा (अव्यय/उद्गार) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘हाहा-शब्दयुक्तं भूतम्’ (turned into ‘hāhā’ lamentation)

• विचेतने: senseless, unconscious
• विचेतने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; लोके इति विशेषणम्—‘senseless, unconscious’

Speaker

Narrator (within Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue; speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (implicit as contrast)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cracked, sun-scorched landscape with withered trees and exhausted animals; people cry out in confusion; above, a fractured celestial clock/wheel symbolizes disrupted yuga reckoning; in the distance, a faint ribbon of river hints at remaining refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Kali Yuga context
• World (loka) under drought

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas frame ecological and social collapse (drought, confusion) as yuga-symptoms, urging seekers toward dhārmic refuges and restoration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Revā–Narmadā tīrtha as the contrast to a drought-stricken world (explicit mention resumes in surrounding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse is descriptive of calamity conditions.