Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तस्यानंतरमेवाशु दुर्भिक्षं संभविष्यति । अनावृष्टिश्च भविता रौद्रा द्वादश वार्षिकी । यया संपत्स्यते सर्वं भूतलं गतमानवम्

Transliteration

tasyānaṃtaramevāśu durbhikṣaṃ saṃbhaviṣyati | anāvṛṣṭiśca bhavitā raudrā dvādaśa vārṣikī | yayā saṃpatsyate sarvaṃ bhūtalaṃ gatamānavam

Translation

紧接其后，必起可怖饥馑；又有凶烈大旱延续十二年，由此大地尽受折磨，世人陷于败亡。

Word by Word

• tasya: of that / after that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• anantaram: immediately after
• anantaram: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (adverbial accusative)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphasis)

• āśu: quickly
• āśu: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āśu (अव्यय)
• Form: शीघ्रार्थक-अव्यय (adverb)

• durbhikṣam: famine
• durbhikṣam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durbhikṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• saṃbhaviṣyati: will occur
• saṃbhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्गः सम्-

• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: drought (no rain)
• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anāvṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक: an+āvṛṣṭi)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• bhavitā: will be
• bhavitā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: भवितृ-प्रत्ययान्त (periphrastic future agent noun used predicatively), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थे ‘भविष्यति’

• raudrā: fierce/terrible
• raudrā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (anāvṛṣṭiḥ इत्यस्य)

• dvādaśa: twelve
• dvādaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याविशेषणम्; (vārṣikī इत्यस्य) ‘twelve’

• vārṣikī: lasting years (annual), i.e., for years
• vārṣikī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vārṣikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (anāvṛṣṭiḥ इत्यस्य)

• yayā: by which
• yayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे ‘यया’ = by which (drought)

• saṃpatsyate: will befall/come upon
• saṃpatsyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्गः सम्-; अर्थे ‘प्राप्स्यते/भविष्यति’ (will come to befall)

• sarvam: entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (bhūtalam इत्यस्य)

• bhūtalam: the earth’s surface
• bhūtalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• gata-mānavam: devoid of people / with people gone
• gata-mānavam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata+mānava (प्रातिपदिक; gata=√gam-kta)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (bhūtalam इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Parched earth with cracked ground, withered crops, empty wells; people thin and distressed; a harsh sun overhead; the mood anticipates a turn toward sacred refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Anāvṛṣṭi (drought)
• Durbhikṣa (famine)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Collective suffering is portrayed as a grave turning of fate/omen, calling for dharmic remedies, restraint, and sacred recourse in the narrative that follows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a new site; it sets the crisis within the ongoing Adhyāya 96 tīrtha narrative, preparing for the tīrtha-centered resolution.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it predicts drought and famine, which typically prompt tīrtha, dāna, and devotional remedies in Purāṇic frameworks.