Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

व्यात्तास्या घुर्घुरारावा जगत्संक्षोभकारिणी । खेलद्भूतानुगा क्रूरा निःश्वासोच्छ्वासकारिणी

Transliteration

vyāttāsyā ghurghurārāvā jagatsaṃkṣobhakāriṇī | kheladbhūtānugā krūrā niḥśvāsocchvāsakāriṇī

Translation

La bouche béante, poussant un grondement rauque et retentissant, elle ébranla le cosmos; cruelle et redoutable, suivie de troupes de bhūtas bondissants, elle haletait en rudes inspirations et expirations.

Word by Word

• व्यात्त-आस्या: with mouth wide open
• व्यात्त-आस्या: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + आ + तन्/तॄ? (धातु) → व्यात्त (कृदन्त) + आस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘व्यात्तम् आस्यं यस्याः सा’—with gaping mouth

• घुर्घुर-आरावा: with a gurgling roar
• घुर्घुर-आरावा: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घुर्घुर (अनुकरण-प्रातिपदिक) + आराव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘घुर्घुर इव आरावः यस्याः’—with a gurgling roar

• जगत्-संक्षोभ-कारिणी: agitator of the world
• जगत्-संक्षोभ-कारिणी: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + संक्षोभ (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘जगतः संक्षोभं करोति’—causing agitation of the world

• खेलत्-भूत-अनुगा: followed by playful spirits
• खेलत्-भूत-अनुगा: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खेलत् (कृदन्त) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘खेलद्भूतानाम् अनुगामिनी’—followed by frolicking spirits

• क्रूरा: cruel, fierce
• क्रूरा: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; predicate adjective

• निःश्वास-उच्छ्वास-कारिणी: producing exhalations and inhalations
• निःश्वास-उच्छ्वास-कारिणी: Viśeṣya-dharma (Epithet/विशेष्यधर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निःश्वास (प्रातिपदिक) + उच्छ्वास (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘निःश्वासं च उच्छ्वासं च करोति’—producing exhalations and inhalations

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A monstrous, gaping-mouthed Raudrī roars with a rumbling growl; the cosmos quivers; around her leap and whirl ghostly attendants; her breath heaves like a storm tide.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūtas
• Raudrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power can overturn cosmic order; the verse cultivates reverence (bhaya-bhakti) and detachment from worldly stability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) sacred region frames the narration, but the verse focuses on the theophany rather than naming a particular ford or shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative description of the divine manifestation and its effects.