Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

चातुर्वर्णे प्रलीने तु नष्टे होमबलिक्रमे । निःस्वाहे निर्वषट्कारे शौचाचारविवर्जिते

Transliteration

cāturvarṇe pralīne tu naṣṭe homabalikrame | niḥsvāhe nirvaṣaṭkāre śaucācāravivarjite

Translation

Lorsque l’ordre des quatre varṇa se fut dissous ; lorsque la suite des rites de homa et de bali eut péri ; lorsque “svāhā” et “vaṣaṭ” se turent ; et lorsque la pureté et la juste conduite furent délaissées…

Word by Word

• चातुर्वर्णे: in the four-varṇa order
• चातुर्वर्णे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘चत्वारः वर्णाः यस्मिन्/समूहः’ (fourfold varṇa-system)

• प्रलीने: when (it is) dissolved
• प्रलीने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रलीन (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (चातुर्वर्णे) इति विशेषणम्—‘dissolved/vanished’

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात)

• नष्टे: when (it is) destroyed
• नष्टे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (चातुर्वर्णे/लोके) इत्यर्थे—‘destroyed’

• होम-बलि-क्रमे: in the rite-order of offerings and bali
• होम-बलि-क्रमे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: होम (प्रातिपदिक) + बलि (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘होमबल्योः क्रमः’ (sequence/rite of homa and bali)

• निःस्वाहे: when ‘svāhā’ is absent
• निःस्वाहे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः + स्वाहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘स्वाहा-रहिते’ (without svāhā)

• निर्वषट्कारे: when the ‘vaṣaṭ’ call is absent
• निर्वषट्कारे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः + वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘वषट्कार-रहिते’ (without vaṣaṭ-call)

• शौच-आचार-विवर्जिते: devoid of purity and proper conduct
• शौच-आचार-विवर्जिते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक) + आचार (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्जित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘शौचाचाराभ्यां विवर्जिते’ (devoid of purity and conduct)

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (implicit refuge)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An abandoned yajña-śālā: cold firepit, scattered ladles, silent altar; priests absent; society in disarray; a dim, smoky sky; in contrast, a distant hermitage lamp still burns—symbol of surviving dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturvarṇya
• Homa
• Bali
• Svāhā
• Vaṣaṭ
• Śauca
• Ācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse laments dharma’s decline—ritual, social order, and purity collapse—setting the need for sacred supports like tīrthas and sādhus to preserve dhārmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; within the chapter’s flow, this decline forms the backdrop to the Revā–Narmadā’s exceptional sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription—rather, it describes the loss of Vedic markers (svāhā/vaṣaṭ) and the breakdown of homa and bali practice.