Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अनावृष्टिरभूत्तत्र महती शतवार्षिकी । लोकक्षयकरी रौद्रा वृक्षवीरुद्विनाशिनी

Transliteration

anāvṛṣṭirabhūttatra mahatī śatavārṣikī | lokakṣayakarī raudrā vṛkṣavīrudvināśinī

Translation

Là survint une grande sécheresse, durant cent années—farouche, porteuse de ruine pour les mondes, anéantissant arbres et plantes rampantes.

Word by Word

• अनावृष्टिः: drought, absence of rain
• अनावृष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्- (नञ्) + आवृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्-समासार्थः (वृष्ट्यभावः)

• अभूत्: arose/occurred
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'there')

• महती: great, severe
• महती: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• शतवार्षिकी: lasting a hundred years
• शतवार्षिकी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वार्षिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (शतवर्षपर्यन्ता)

• लोकक्षयकरी: causing destruction of worlds/people
• लोकक्षयकरी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षय (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (लोकानां क्षयं करोति)

• रौद्रा: terrible, fierce
• रौद्रा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• वृक्षवीरुद्विनाशिनी: destroyer of trees and creepers
• वृक्षवीरुद्विनाशिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + वीरुध् (प्रातिपदिक) + विनाशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वपूर्वपद-तत्पुरुषार्थः (वृक्षाणां च वीरुधां च विनाशिनी)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Revā-khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Reva (Narmadā) tīrtha-s (implied by Revākhaṇḍa setting)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched landscape under a harsh sky: cracked earth, withered trees and creepers, animals and people weakened; the drought personified as a fierce raudra force sweeping across the land for a hundred years.

Characters & Entities

• Drought (Anāvṛṣṭi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic and moral disorder manifests as environmental catastrophe; dharma is portrayed as sustaining the world’s fertility and stability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named in this verse; it sets a crisis backdrop within the Revā-khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the calamity (drought) rather than prescribing rites.