Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तस्य क्रुद्धो जगन्नाथो दुर्वाससः कृते तदा । चक्रेण क्षुरधारेण शिरश्चिच्छेद लीलया

Transliteration

tasya kruddho jagannātho durvāsasaḥ kṛte tadā | cakreṇa kṣuradhāreṇa śiraściccheda līlayā

Translation

Da wurde Jagannātha, um Durvāsā willen erzürnt, und trennte ihm spielerisch mit dem rasiermesserscharfen Diskus das Haupt ab.

Word by Word

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kruddhaḥ: angered
• kruddhaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krudh (धातु) → kruddha (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• jagannāthaḥ: Lord of the world
• jagannāthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थे (जगतः नाथः)

• durvāsasaḥ: of Durvāsā
• durvāsasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durvāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kṛte: for the sake of
• kṛte: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kṛta (क्त)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन (नपुंसक) ‘कृते’ इति; हेत्वर्थे/निमित्ते (for the sake of/because of)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• cakreṇa: with the discus
• cakreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• kṣuradhāreṇa: razor-edged
• kṣuradhāreṇa: Karana (Instrument qualifier/करण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣura (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक ‘धारा’ पर; तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; करणविशेषण (क्षुरस्य धारा इव)

• śiraḥ: the head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ciccheda: cut off
• ciccheda: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: chid (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• līlayā: playfully
• līlayā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; प्रकार/रीत्या (as if in play)

Speaker

Prahlāda (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jagannātha manifests in protective wrath for Durvāsā; the Sudarśana-cakra flashes like a razor arc and, in a moment described as playful, severs Durmukha’s head—divine power rendered effortless and precise.

Characters & Entities

• Jagannātha (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• Durvāsā
• Cakra (Sudarśana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord swiftly protects the saintly; harm intended for dharmic persons invites immediate divine justice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, as a dhāma where the Lord’s protective presence is vividly demonstrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a māhātmya-style assurance of divine protection for dharma.