Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

सौराष्ट्रविषये शुभ्रे धनधान्यसमाकुले । अथ कालांतरे तत्र अनावृष्टिरभूद्द्विजाः

Transliteration

saurāṣṭraviṣaye śubhre dhanadhānyasamākule | atha kālāṃtare tatra anāvṛṣṭirabhūddvijāḥ

Translation

शुभ्र सौराष्ट्र प्रदेशात, धनधान्याने समृद्ध अशा त्या भूमीत, काही काळानंतर, हे द्विजांनो, तेथे अनावृष्टी (पावसाचा अभाव) झाली.

Word by Word

• saurāṣṭra-viṣaye: in the region of Saurāṣṭra
• saurāṣṭra-viṣaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saurāṣṭra + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• śubhre: bright; auspicious
• śubhre: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• dhana-dhānya-samākule: abounding in wealth and grain
• dhana-dhānya-samākule: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhana + dhānya + samākula (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनन्तरार्थक (particle: then/thereupon)

• kāla-antare: at another time; after some time
• kāla-antare: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb of place: there)

• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: drought; lack of rain
• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-āvṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• abhūt: arose; occurred
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/प्रथमा (Vocative/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

King (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual destination)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijas (addressed as ‘dvijāḥ’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prosperous Saurashtra landscape—granaries, fields, cattle—slowly turning parched: cracked earth, withering crops, anxious brāhmaṇas and villagers looking to the sky for rain.

Characters & Entities

• Saurāṣṭra
• Brāhmaṇas (dvija)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly prosperity is impermanent; crises often turn beings toward dharma, pilgrimage, and reliance on sacred refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Saurāṣṭra is the regional setting that leads into the Prabhāsa pilgrimage narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it provides the circumstance (drought) prompting the ensuing tīrtha-oriented actions.