Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 188

Devanagari script

वृष्ट्या बभूवुरौषध्यो ग्राम्यारण्याश्चतुर्दश । अकृष्टपच्यानूप्तास्तोयभूमिसमागमात्

Transliteration

vṛṣṭyā babhūvurauṣadhyo grāmyāraṇyāścaturdaśa | akṛṣṭapacyānūptāstoyabhūmisamāgamāt

Translation

वृष्टीमुळे चौदा प्रकारच्या औषधी उत्पन्न झाल्या—ग्राम्य व अरण्य दोन्ही. जल-भूमीच्या संयोगाने त्या न नांगरता, न पेरता आपोआप पिकल्या.

Word by Word

• vṛṣṭyā: by rain
• vṛṣṭyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• babhūvuḥ: came into being/arose
• babhūvuḥ: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural); परस्मैपदम्

• auṣadhyaḥ: herbs/medicinal plants
• auṣadhyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: auṣadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural)

• grāmya-araṇyāḥ: domestic and forest (varieties)
• grāmya-araṇyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: grāmya (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषण (qualifier) auṣadhyaḥ

• caturdaśa: fourteen
• caturdaśa: Saṅkhyā (Numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः (numeral, indeclinable-like in many uses); auṣadhyaḥ इति पदस्य संख्या

• akṛṣṭa-pacyāḥ: ripening without cultivation
• akṛṣṭa-pacyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (उपसर्ग/निषेध) + kṛṣṭa (कृदन्त, kṛṣ धातोः) + pacya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषण auṣadhyaḥ; अर्थः: अकृष्टाः (uncultivated) एव पच्याः (ripening/cookable)

• anūptāḥ: unsown
• anūptāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anūpta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; anu + vap/ūp? ‘to sow’ sense)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (plural); विशेषण auṣadhyaḥ; अर्थः: अनूप्ताः (unsown)

• toya-bhūmi-samāgamāt: from the meeting of water and earth
• toya-bhūmi-samāgamāt: Apādāna/Hetu (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + samāgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (singular); हेतौ/निमित्ते (cause)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon rain falling on fields and forest; medicinal plants springing up in profusion, some cultivated near dwellings and others wild in the woods; earth and water meeting in shining rivulets.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Nature’s generosity supports beings when harmony prevails; recognizing such gifts fosters dharma through gratitude and non-exploitation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular sacred geography is referenced; it is a cosmological description of resources in an age.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes spontaneous produce rather than ritual practice.