Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

निर्वृक्षौषधगुल्मं च तृणवीरुद्विवर्जितम् । अनावृष्टिहतं सर्वं भूमण्डलमभूद्भृशम्

Transliteration

nirvṛkṣauṣadhagulmaṃ ca tṛṇavīrudvivarjitam | anāvṛṣṭihataṃ sarvaṃ bhūmaṇḍalamabhūdbhṛśam

Translation

மரங்கள், மூலிகைகள், புதர்கள் இன்றியும், புல்-கொடிகள் இன்றியும், மழையின்மையால் முழு பூமண்டலம் கடுமையாக வாடியது।

Word by Word

• निर्वृक्षौषधगुल्मम्: devoid of trees, herbs, and shrubs
• निर्वृक्षौषधगुल्मम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + वृक्ष + औषध + गुल्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्/निर्-पूर्वक तत्पुरुष (वृक्ष-औषध-गुल्मैः रहितम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• तृणवीरुद्विवर्जितम्: deprived of grasses and creepers
• तृणवीरुद्विवर्जितम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृण + वीरुध् + विवर्जित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त/PPP)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तृणवीरुद्भ्यां विवर्जितम्); विवर्जित = वि+√वृज्/√वर्ज् (to avoid) क्त

• अनावृष्टिहतम्: stricken by drought (lack of rain)
• अनावृष्टिहतम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन् + आवृष्टि + हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त/PPP)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष (आवृष्ट्या रहितया हतम् = struck by lack of rain)

• सर्वम्: all (of it)
• सर्वम्: Visheshya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भूमण्डलम्: the earth-sphere, the whole land
• भूमण्डलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूमेः मण्डलम्)

• अभूत्: became, was
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• भृशम्: exceedingly, greatly
• भृशम्: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृशम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (intensifier)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Revā Khaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: null

Type: null

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A treeless, herb-less plain; empty thickets; no grass; the ground fissured; a few skeletal branches; the horizon shimmers with heat.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse warns that when cosmic order declines, the natural world withers—prompting a return to dharma and sacred remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.