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

Nachdem er so lange nachgesonnen und den in Pātāla Wohnenden erkannt hatte, begab sich Ātreya auf die Oberfläche der Erde und nahm Zuflucht bei Viṣṇu.

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.