Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

प्रावृट्कालं समासाद्य भविष्यति जलाकुला । प्लाव्योभयतटं देवी प्राप्य मामुत्तरस्थितम्

Transliteration

prāvṛṭkālaṃ samāsādya bhaviṣyati jalākulā | plāvyobhayataṭaṃ devī prāpya māmuttarasthitam

Translation

മഴക്കാലം എത്തിയാൽ അവൾ ജലത്തോടെ നിറഞ്ഞ് ഉന്മത്തമായി ഒഴുകും. വടക്കുകരയിൽ നിലകൊള്ളുന്ന എന്നെ പ്രാപിച്ച് ദേവി ഇരുകരകളും പ്രളയജലത്തോടെ മൂടും.

Word by Word

• प्रावृट्कालम्: the rainy season time
• प्रावृट्कालम्: Karma (Object of gerund/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रावृट् + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (प्रावृट्-समये कालः)

• समासाद्य: having arrived
• समासाद्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + सद् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having arrived/reached’

• भविष्यति: will become
• भविष्यति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• जलाकुला: turbulent with water, water-filled
• जलाकुला: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (देव्याः/नद्याः)

• प्लाव्य: (making it) floodable / to be flooded
• प्लाव्य: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु (धातु) + ण्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृत्य (gerundive/obligative) ‘प्लाव्य’ = ‘to be flooded/fit to be flooded’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (कर्म-विशेषण)

• उभयतटम्: both banks
• उभयतटम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उभय + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (उभयोः तटयोः समाहारः)

• देवी: the goddess (river)
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having reached’

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्तरस्थितम्: standing to the north
• उत्तरस्थितम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर + स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘स्थित’ (PPP) विशेषण ‘माम्’; कर्मधारय (उत्तरं स्थितम्)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) in prāvṛṭ-kāla

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon arrives; Revā becomes water-laden and floods both banks after reaching the Lord stationed to the north—river as a powerful goddess in motion.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (river as Goddess)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (kāla) and sacred place (tīrtha) converge—seasonal changes are framed as divinely charged opportunities for purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaṅkhoddhāra-tīrtha and its river-banks within the Revā Khaṇḍa landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly points to monsoon-time river rites; explicit prescriptions (snāna, śrāddha) appear in subsequent verses.