Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

तस्मात्कुरु प्रसादं मे यथा क्षुन्न प्रबाधते । नोचेत्क्षिप सुरश्रेष्ठ रौरवे नरके द्रुतम्

Transliteration

tasmātkuru prasādaṃ me yathā kṣunna prabādhate | nocetkṣipa suraśreṣṭha raurave narake drutam

Translation

فلذلك، تفضّل عليّ بنعمتك كي لا يعذبني الجوع؛ وإلا، يا أفضل الآلهة، فاقذفني سريعًا في جحيم رَوْرَفَة (Raurava).

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् (अव्ययीभाव/ablatival adverb) — ‘therefore/from that reason’

• kuru: grant/do
• kuru: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘do/make’

• prasādam: favor/grace
• prasādam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘favor/grace’

• me: to me
• me: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी, एकवचन — ‘to me’

• yathā: so that
• yathā: Prayojana (Purpose marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/उद्देश्य) — ‘so that/in such a way that’

• kṣut: hunger
• kṣut: Karta (Subject of prabādhate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘hunger’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — ‘not’

• prabādhate: afflicts
• prabādhate: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + bādh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — ‘troubles/afflicts’

• no: if not
• no: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — ‘not’ (in correlative with cet)

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (Condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त/conditional particle) — ‘if’

• kṣipa: cast/throw
• kṣipa: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘throw/cast’

• sura-śreṣṭha: O best of the gods
• sura-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — ‘O best of the gods’

• raurave: in Raurava
• raurave: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — ‘in Raurava (hell)’

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘in hell’

• drutam: quickly
• drutam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb) — ‘quickly/at once’

Speaker

Vasusena (addressing Indra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The petitioner folds hands urgently before Indra, pleading for prasāda to remove hunger; in the background, a faint ominous vision of Raurava (dark pit, flames, serpents) contrasts with the bright svarga hall.

Characters & Entities

• Vasusena
• Indra
• Raurava Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Relief from karmic suffering requires divine sanction and correction; unbearable inner torment makes even hell seem preferable to false comfort.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse is a supplication for prasāda (divine favor).