Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 190

Devanagari script

ततः पुनरभूत्तासां रागो लोभश्च सर्वतः । कालवीर्येण वा गृह्य नदीक्षेत्राणि पर्वतान्

Transliteration

tataḥ punarabhūttāsāṃ rāgo lobhaśca sarvataḥ | kālavīryeṇa vā gṛhya nadīkṣetrāṇi parvatān

Translation

Alors, de nouveau, partout parmi eux surgirent la passion et l’avidité; et, fortifiés par la puissance du Temps, ils s’emparèrent des rivières, des contrées sacrées et des montagnes.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• abhūt: arose/was
• abhūt: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• tāsām: of them
• tāsām: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• rāgaḥ: passion/attachment
• rāgaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• lobhaḥ: greed
• lobhaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• sarvataḥ: everywhere/on all sides
• sarvataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• kāla-vīryeṇa: by the power of time
• kāla-vīryeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• vā: or/indeed
• vā: Samuccaya/Option (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प (disjunctive particle)

• gṛhya: having seized/taken
• gṛhya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘गृह्य’ = गृहीत्वा; क्रियाविशेषण-भाव (having seized)

• nadī-kṣetrāṇi: river-lands/fields by rivers
• nadī-kṣetrāṇi: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (plural)

• parvatān: mountains
• parvatān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (plural)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Generic: nadī-kṣetra-parvata (sacred commons)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: People turning from contentment to contention: groups staking claims along riverbanks, marking boundaries around kshetras and hills; a looming presence of Kāla as an unseen force.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Time)
• nadī (rivers)
• kṣetra (sacred regions)
• parvata (mountains)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked passion and greed, when driven by Kāla (the momentum of the age), lead beings to violate even what is sacred—rivers, holy kṣetras, and mountains.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse speaks generally of sacred rivers and kṣetras as part of Purāṇic sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a diagnostic verse describing moral decline rather than prescribing vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa.