Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सरित्सरःसमुद्रेषु क्षयं यातेषु सर्वशः । निर्मानुषवषट्कारे ह्यमर्यादगतिं गते

Transliteration

saritsaraḥsamudreṣu kṣayaṃ yāteṣu sarvaśaḥ | nirmānuṣavaṣaṭkāre hyamaryādagatiṃ gate

Translation

เมื่อแม่น้ำ ลำธาร สระ และมหาสมุทรทั้งปวงเสื่อมสูญสิ้นไปทุกแห่ง และพิธีกรรมของมนุษย์ที่เปล่งคำว่า ‘วษฏฺ’ ก็ขาดสูญ—แท้จริงเมื่อสรรพสิ่งตกสู่สภาพไร้ขอบเขตแห่งระเบียบอันควร—…

Word by Word

• सरित्-सरः-समुद्रेषु: in rivers, lakes, and oceans
• सरित्-सरः-समुद्रेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् + सरस् + समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (सरितः च सरांसि च समुद्राः च)

• क्षयम्: to destruction/decay
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/goal of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यातेषु: when (they) had gone
• यातेषु: Sati-saptamī (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: या (धातु) → यात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past active participle in locative absolute usage); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सति-सप्तमी (when they had gone)

• सर्वशः: completely
• सर्वशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (entirely, in every way)

• निर्मानुषवषट्कारे: in the (state of) man-less vaṣaṭ-calls/ritual exclamations
• निर्मानुषवषट्कारे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्मानुष + वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (निर्मानुषः वषट्कारः)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha/Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• अमर्यादगतिम्: a lawless course/state
• अमर्यादगतिम्: Karma (Object/goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमर्याद + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (अमर्यादा एव गतिः)

• गते: when (it) had come/occurred
• गते: Sati-saptamī (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (when it had come to)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate landscape: cracked riverbeds, empty lakes, receded oceans; silent altars with no smoke, no ‘vaṣaṭ’ cries; the world appears beyond maryādā, with a seer observing the collapse.

Characters & Entities

• Rivers
• Oceans
• Vaṣaṭ (Vedic exclamation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharmic rites fade and nature collapses, it signals cosmic imbalance—prompting reliance on the eternal divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse depicts universal dissolution within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references the cessation of vaṣaṭ-kāra (Vedic oblation call), highlighting the breakdown of sacrificial order.