Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

महोत्पातसमुद्भूतं नष्टनक्षत्रमण्डलम् । अलातचक्रवत्तूर्णमशेषं भ्रामयंस्ततः

Transliteration

mahotpātasamudbhūtaṃ naṣṭanakṣatramaṇḍalam | alātacakravattūrṇamaśeṣaṃ bhrāmayaṃstataḥ

Translation

മഹോത്പാതങ്ങൾ ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചു; നക്ഷത്രമണ്ഡലം അപ്രത്യക്ഷമായി. തുടർന്ന് എല്ലാം അവശേഷമില്ലാതെ, അലാതചക്രംപോലെ വേഗത്തിൽ ചുറ്റിത്തുടങ്ങി.

Word by Word

• महा-उत्पात-समुद्भूतम्: arisen from a great portent
• महा-उत्पात-समुद्भूतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्पात (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भूत (भू धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; उपसर्ग: सम्+उद्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (past passive participle)

• नष्ट-नक्षत्र-मण्डलम्: the constellation-circle (sky) with stars destroyed
• नष्ट-नक्षत्र-मण्डलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नष्ट (नश् धातु, क्त) + नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अलात-चक्र-वत्: like a firebrand-wheel
• अलात-चक्र-वत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलात (प्रातिपदिक) + चक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (वत्-प्रत्ययान्त)

• तूर्णम्: swiftly
• तूर्णम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय

• अशेषम्: entirely, without remainder
• अशेषम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय (सम्पूर्णतावाचक)

• भ्रामयन्: causing to whirl, whirling
• भ्रामयन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), णिजन्त

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/क्रमवाचक)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-maṇḍala (contextual)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A darkened sky where the star-circle vanishes; the world spins like a fiery alāta-cakra, with blurred horizons and swirling dust, conveying cosmic disorientation.

Characters & Entities

• Nakṣatras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the seemingly fixed heavens are subject to change; spiritual practice aims at what is unshaken when all cosmic measures dissolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is a cosmic-omen passage within the Revā Khaṇḍa; it does not single out a particular Narmadā ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is mentioned; the verse describes ominous phenomena.