Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 115
ज्ञातं बलं ते विबुधैरचिंत्यं विनाशनं चात्मवतां ह्यवश्यम् । एवं स्थिते कुरु वाक्यं सुराणामेकैकमद्धि प्रतिवासरं त्वम्
jñātaṃ balaṃ te vibudhairaciṃtyaṃ vināśanaṃ cātmavatāṃ hyavaśyam | evaṃ sthite kuru vākyaṃ surāṇāmekaikamaddhi prativāsaraṃ tvam
Die Weisen kennen deine unbegreifliche Macht und dass selbst die Mächtigen dem Untergang anheimfallen können. Darum, in dieser Lage, erfülle die Bitte der Götter: verzehre sie einen nach dem andern, Tag für Tag.
A Cāraṇa messenger (advising Viṣṇu/Janārdana)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis
Scene: Viṣṇu’s counsel turns pragmatic: acknowledging the addressed being’s immense power yet warning of inevitable downfall; he proposes a controlled, day-by-day consumption rather than sudden annihilation.
FAQs
Power must be exercised with restraint and foresight; measured action preserves dharma and prevents greater harm.
The setting is Prabhāsakṣetra, celebrated in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa as a spiritually potent region.
No ritual is given; a practical prescription is offered—staggering the act ‘day by day’ rather than all at once.