Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

न वर्षंति यदाभ्राणि न प्रावर्तंत निम्रगाः । जलाभिलाषो न यदा स्नानपानादि कर्मणि

Transliteration

na varṣaṃti yadābhrāṇi na prāvartaṃta nimragāḥ | jalābhilāṣo na yadā snānapānādi karmaṇi

Translation

Wenn die Wolken nicht mehr regnen und die Flüsse aufhören zu fließen—wenn selbst das Verlangen nach Wasser für Handlungen wie Baden und Trinken erlischt—(dann gerät die Welt in Not).

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• varṣanti: they rain
• varṣanti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• abhrāṇi: clouds
• abhrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• prāvartanta: they set in motion / began to flow
• prāvartanta: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र-

• nimragāḥ: rivers (lit. low-going)
• nimragāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimragā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; (पाठभेद/अस्पष्ट-रूप: सम्भवतः 'निम्नगाः' = नदियाँ)

• jalābhilāṣaḥ: desire for water
• jalābhilāṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + abhilāṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जलस्य अभिलाषः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• snānapānādi: bathing, drinking, etc.
• snānapānādi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + pāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व (स्नानं च पानं च इत्यादि)

• karmaṇi: in the act/ritual
• karmaṇi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched landscape under cloudless skies; cracked riverbeds; people with empty pots; ritual platforms abandoned for lack of water—setting a somber prelude to Kāśī’s promise.

Characters & Entities

• Megha (clouds)
• Nimnagā (rivers)
• Snāna
• Pāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays a breakdown of sustaining order—when nature and ritual support fail—preparing the mind to seek an unfailing refuge in the sacred kṣetra and in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding passage belongs to the Kāśī-kṣetra Māhātmya in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, pointing toward Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) as the liberating field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) and pāna (drinking) are referenced as essential acts dependent on water; no specific vow is prescribed in this verse.