Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ततो लोका भयत्रस्तास्त्रिपुरे भरतोत्तम । सर्वासुरविनाशाय कालरूपा भयावहाः

Transliteration

tato lokā bhayatrastāstripure bharatottama | sarvāsuravināśāya kālarūpā bhayāvahāḥ

Translation

Da erbebten die Welten vor Furcht, o Bester der Bhāratas, bei Tripura; schreckliche Vorzeichen erschienen in der Gestalt der Zeit selbst und kündeten die Vernichtung aller Asuras an.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• लोकाः: people; worlds
• लोकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• भयत्रस्ताः: terrified
• भयत्रस्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय + त्रस्त (त्रस् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण; समासः: भय-त्रस्त = 'frightened by fear'

• त्रिपुरे: in Tripura
• त्रिपुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (नाम), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• भरतोत्तम: O best of Bharata’s line
• भरतोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: 'best of the Bharatas'

• सर्व: all
• सर्व: —
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (समासाङ्ग) सर्व- = 'all' (पूर्वपद)

• असुर: demons
• असुर: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (समासाङ्ग) असुर- = 'demons' (पूर्वपद)

• विनाशाय: for the destruction
• विनाशाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; समासः: सर्व-असुर-विनाश = 'destruction of all demons'

• कालरूपाः: time-formed; like Time
• कालरूपाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: काल-रूप = 'having the form of Time'

• भयावहाः: fear-bringing; dreadful
• भयावहाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय + आवह (आ + वह् धातु, णिनि/अच्-प्रत्ययान्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: भय-आवह = 'bringing fear'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced); vocative ‘bharatottama’ indicates epic-style address within narration

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bharata-uttama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cosmos shudders; skies darken; uncanny signs appear as Kāla itself seems to move—announcing the doom of the asuras of Tripura.

Characters & Entities

• Tripura
• asuras
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma’s end is woven into Kāla (Time); when divine justice moves, even the worlds sense the turning of the cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tripura is the narrative locus; the Revā-khaṇḍa’s larger canvas is the Narmadā sacred region, though this verse is not a tīrtha-phala statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes fear and time-form omens associated with asura-destruction.