Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

न तत्र दृश्यते किंचित्पतेद्यत्र पुरत्रयम् । नद्यो ग्रामाश्च देशाश्च बहवो भस्मसात्कृताः

Transliteration

na tatra dṛśyate kiṃcitpatedyatra puratrayam | nadyo grāmāśca deśāśca bahavo bhasmasātkṛtāḥ

Translation

Là où tombe la Triple Cité (Tripura), on ne voit plus rien subsister ; bien des rivières, des villages et des contrées entières sont réduits en cendres.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

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

• दृश्यते: is seen
• दृश्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (present, 3rd sg, middle; passive: "is seen")

• किंचित्: anything
• किंचित्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किंचित् (सर्वनाम/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg: "anything")

• पतेत्: should fall
• पतेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (लिङ्-लकार); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (optative: "should fall")

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-सम्बन्ध (relative locative adverb: "where")

• पुरत्रयम्: the triad of cities / Tripura
• पुरत्रयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पुराणां त्रयम्)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (feminine nominative plural)

• ग्रामाः: villages
• ग्रामाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (masculine nominative plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: "and")

• देशाः: regions
• देशाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (masculine nominative plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: "and")

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (masculine nominative plural)

• भस्मसात्कृताः: reduced to ashes
• भस्मसात्कृताः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भस्मसात् (अव्यय/निपात) + √कृ (धातु) क्त
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; बहुवचन (masc nom pl); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle: "made"); अव्ययीभाव-समास (भस्मसात् + कृत)

Speaker

Devas (collective petitioners; speaker not explicitly named in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa landscape (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic wasteland: dried riverbeds, collapsed village outlines, drifting ash clouds; above, the shadow of Tripura’s descent; foreground shows charred trees and broken pots.

Characters & Entities

• Tripura (Puratraya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained demonic power brings ruin to sacred order; divine intervention is sought to restore dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it occurs within the Revā Khaṇḍa context linked to the Narmadā (Revā) sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a description of devastation prompting a plea for protection.