Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

एवं तस्य महीपस्य वर्तमानस्य च द्विजाः । अनावृष्टिरभूद्रौद्रा सर्वसस्यक्षयावहा

Transliteration

evaṃ tasya mahīpasya vartamānasya ca dvijāḥ | anāvṛṣṭirabhūdraudrā sarvasasyakṣayāvahā

Translation

Wahai para dvija, pada masa pemerintahan raja itu timbullah kemarau yang mengerikan, yang membawa kebinasaan segala tanaman dan panen.

Word by Word

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; manner-adverb (एवम्)

• tasya: of him, of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; genitive singular

• mahīpasya: of the king
• mahīpasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; genitive singular masculine; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीः पाति इति)

• vartamānasya: while he was reigning/continuing
• vartamānasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; genitive singular masculine; ‘being/continuing’ (qualifying mahīpasya)

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Connector/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• dvijāḥ: Brahmins (twice-born)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), बहुवचन; nominative plural masculine

• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: drought, absence of rain
• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-āvṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular feminine

• abhūt: was, occurred
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 3rd sg imperfect

• raudrā: fierce, terrible
• raudrā: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular feminine; विशेषण (अनावृष्टिः)

• sarvasasyakṣayāvahā: bringing destruction of all crops
• sarvasasyakṣayāvahā: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva-sasya-kṣaya-āvaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular feminine; विशेषण (अनावृष्टिः); समास: तत्पुरुष (सर्वस्य सस्यस्य क्षयम् आवहति इति)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages in Māhātmya style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ (brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Parched fields cracked open; withered crops; anxious villagers and brāhmaṇas approach the king; the sky is harsh and empty of clouds, conveying dread.

Characters & Entities

• māhīpati (king)
• dvija (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly order (rain, crops) is portrayed as fragile, urging rulers and communities to uphold dharma and seek divine support through right worship and charity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The snippet sits within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (a sacred-place glorification), but this verse itself does not name the exact tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it sets the crisis (drought) that later leads to worship and offerings.