Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

सरित्सरस्तडागेषु पल्वलोपवनेषु च । संशुष्केषु तदा ब्रह्मन्निराकारे युगक्षये

Transliteration

saritsarastaḍāgeṣu palvalopavaneṣu ca | saṃśuṣkeṣu tadā brahmannirākāre yugakṣaye

Translation

When rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, and groves had all dried up, then—O Brahmin—at the formless end of the age,

Word by Word

• सरित्: river
• सरित्: Adhikarana (Locative context via compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (feminine, nominative/accusative, singular)

• सरः: lake
• सरः: Adhikarana (Locative context via compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative, singular)

• तडागेषु: in ponds
• तडागेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तडाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (masculine, locative, plural)

• पल्वल: marsh, puddle
• पल्वल: Adhikarana (Locative context via compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पल्वल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative, singular)

• उपवनेषु: in groves
• उपवनेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (neuter, locative, plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• संशुष्केषु: in the dried-up (places)
• संशुष्केषु: Adhikarana (Location/condition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं-शुष्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (neuter, locative, plural; adjective)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (sage)
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (neuter, vocative, singular)

• निराकारे: in the formless (state/place)
• निराकारे: Adhikarana (Location/state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine/neuter, locative, singular; adjective)

• युगक्षये: at the end of the age
• युगक्षये: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग-क्षय (प्रातिपदिक; युग + क्षय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (masculine, locative, singular)

Speaker

Narrator in Revā-khaṇḍa dialogue context (sage continuing the description)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-context

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dried world at the end of the age: empty riverbeds, cracked lake basins, desiccated ponds and marshes, with a vast pale sky suggesting the approach of the formless dissolution.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman (address to a Brahmin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All natural supports can vanish; the Purāṇas highlight impermanence to inspire reliance on enduring spiritual truth and sacred merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named in this verse; it remains part of the broader Revā Khaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.