Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

चत्वारः सागराः क्षिप्रमेकीभूता महीपते । निपेतुरुल्कापाताश्च पादपा अप्यनेकशः

Transliteration

catvāraḥ sāgarāḥ kṣipramekībhūtā mahīpate | nipeturulkāpātāśca pādapā apyanekaśaḥ

Translation

王よ、四つの大海はたちまち一つになったかのようであった。流星の落下が雨のごとく降り、数多の樹木もまた根こそぎ倒された。

Word by Word

• चत्वारः: four
• चत्वारः: Karta (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• सागराः: oceans
• सागराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• क्षिप्रम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्रम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/रीतिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (quickly)

• एकीभूताः: became one / merged
• एकीभूताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: एकीभू (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; एक + भू धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विधेयविशेषणम्

• महीपते: O king
• महीपते: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपतिः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• निपेतुः: fell down
• निपेतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + पत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• उल्कापाताः: meteor-falls
• उल्कापाताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उल्का (प्रातिपदिक) + पात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (उल्कायाः पाताः)

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

• पादपाः: trees
• पादपाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पादप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (also/even)

• अनेकशः: in many (places)/numerously
• अनेकशः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (addressing a king within the frame-story)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (mahīpate)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The seas surge as if their boundaries vanish; fiery meteors streak downward; forests bend and trees tear from the earth, thrown amid dust and storm under a trembling sky.

Characters & Entities

• Four oceans
• Mahīpati (king; addressee)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When adharma provokes the divine, nature itself displays omens, reminding beings to return to restraint and reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The signs are tied to the shaking of Kailāsa, the sacred mountain associated with Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse lists portents and disturbances.