Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

इति ध्यात्वा च सुचिरं ज्ञात्वा पातालवासि नम् । आत्रेयो विष्णुशरणं जगाम धरणीतलम्

Transliteration

iti dhyātvā ca suciraṃ jñātvā pātālavāsi nam | ātreyo viṣṇuśaraṇaṃ jagāma dharaṇītalam

Translation

এভাবে দীর্ঘক্ষণ ধ্যান-চিন্তা করে, পাতালবাসীকে চিনে নিয়ে, আত্রেয় বিষ্ণুর শরণ গ্রহণ করে পৃথিবীতলে গেলেন।

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• ध्यात्वा: having meditated
• ध्यात्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having meditated)

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

• सुचिरम्: for a long time
• सुचिरम्: Adhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सुचिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयुक्तम्; कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having known/ascertained)

• पातालवासिनम्: the dweller of Pātāla
• पातालवासिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/अधिकरण-सम्बन्धः (pātāle vāsī)

• आत्रेयः: Ātreya
• आत्रेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• विष्णुशरणम्: refuge in Viṣṇu
• विष्णुशरणम्: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + शरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (viṣṇoḥ śaraṇam)

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• धरणीतलम्: the surface of the earth
• धरणीतलम्: Karma (Destination/गन्तव्य-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dharaṇyāḥ talam)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ātreya, having meditated long, recognizes a Pātāla-dweller and then strides upward onto the earth, hands folded, setting out under the unseen protection of Viṣṇu.

Characters & Entities

• Ātreya
• Viṣṇu
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

After discernment, the dharmic response to danger is refuge in the Supreme; śaraṇāgati is presented as decisive spiritual action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dvārakā-māhātmya frame continues; refuge in Viṣṇu is tied to the sanctity of Dvārakā and its tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the act emphasized is taking refuge (śaraṇa) in Viṣṇu.