Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अपवित्रमिदं क्षेत्रं सर्ववेदविवर्जितम् । भविष्यति नृपश्रेष्ठ गतेत्युक्त्वा हरिप्रिया

Transliteration

apavitramidaṃ kṣetraṃ sarvavedavivarjitam | bhaviṣyati nṛpaśreṣṭha gatetyuktvā haripriyā

Translation

“ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ഈ ക്ഷേത്രം അപവിത്രമായി, സർവ്വവേദസാന്നിധ്യവും വിട്ടുപോകും”—എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ് ഹരിപ്രിയ (ലക്ഷ്മി) അവിടെ നിന്ന് പുറപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• apavitram: impure
• apavitram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्-प्रत्यय (impure)

• idam: this
• idam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘क्षेत्रम्’ विशेषण

• kṣetram: field; sacred place
• kṣetram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sarva-veda-vivarjitam: devoid of all Vedic (sanctity)
• sarva-veda-vivarjitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सर्वैः वेदैः विवर्जितम्’ (devoid of all Vedas)

• bhaviṣyati: will become
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; नृपाणां श्रेष्ठः

• gatā: gone
• gatā: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (हरिप्रिया)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund)

• hari-priyā: Hari’s beloved (Lakṣmī)
• hari-priyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: हरेः प्रिया (beloved of Hari)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating Haripriyā’s words)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhṛgukaccha kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lakṣmī (Haripriyā) pronounces a curse that the region will become impure and devoid of Vedic presence, then departs—her figure moving away as the landscape subtly darkens.

Characters & Entities

• Haripriyā (Śrī/Lakṣmī)
• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography teaches that the perceived purity of a place can change in time due to divine displeasure and dharmic decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse speaks of “this kṣetra” within the ongoing narrative context tied to Bhṛgukaccha and the lead-up to Kedāra’s account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it reports a pronouncement (śāpa/utterance) about the future state of the kṣetra.