Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

न तत्र दृश्यते सूर्यो न काष्ठा न च चन्द्रमाः । पादपाश्च न दृश्यन्ते गिरिशृङ्गाणि सर्वतः

Transliteration

na tatra dṛśyate sūryo na kāṣṭhā na ca candramāḥ | pādapāśca na dṛśyante giriśṛṅgāṇi sarvataḥ

Translation

അവിടെ സൂര്യനും ദിക്കുകളും ചന്ദ്രനും പോലും ദൃശ്യമല്ലായിരുന്നു. എല്ലാടവും വൃക്ഷങ്ങളും പർവ്വതശിഖരങ്ങളും കാണപ്പെട്ടില്ല.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• dṛśyate: is seen/appears
• dṛśyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• sūryaḥ: the sun
• sūryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• kāṣṭhāḥ: directions/quarters
• kāṣṭhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• candramāḥ: the moon
• candramāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candramas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pādapāḥ: trees
• pādapāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pādapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• dṛśyante: are seen/appear
• dṛśyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• giriśṛṅgāṇi: mountain peaks
• giriśṛṅgāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri-śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक; गिरि + शृङ्ग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mountain-peaks)

• sarvataḥ: on all sides
• sarvataḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: परितः/सर्वदिक्-अर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: on all sides)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, unspecified in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king and retinue in near-total darkness; no sun or moon; silhouettes of ravines; the world’s directions erased by thick gloom.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Candramā
• Kāṣṭhā (directions)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When the world’s markers disappear, reliance shifts inward—Purāṇic scenes often prepare for revelation or moral turning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly identified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.