Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कृते जनार्दनोनाम त्रेतायां मधुसूदनः । द्वापरे पुण्डरीकाक्षः कलौ नारायणः स्मृतः

Transliteration

kṛte janārdanonāma tretāyāṃ madhusūdanaḥ | dvāpare puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ kalau nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Im Kṛta-Zeitalter ist Er als Janārdana bekannt; im Tretā-Zeitalter als Madhusūdana; im Dvāpara-Zeitalter als Puṇḍarīkākṣa; und im Kali-Zeitalter wird Er als Nārāyaṇa in Erinnerung gehalten.

Word by Word

• कृते: in the Kṛta (age)
• कृते: Adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘कृतयुगे’ इत्यर्थे

• जनार्दनः: Janārdana
• जनार्दनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Naming particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामार्थक निपात (quotative/‘by name’)

• त्रेतायाम्: in Tretā (age)
• त्रेतायाम्: Adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• मधुसूदनः: Madhusūdana
• मधुसूदनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु + सूदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—मधुं सूदयति इति

• द्वापरे: in Dvāpara (age)
• द्वापरे: Adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वापर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• पुण्डरीकाक्षः: Puṇḍarīkākṣa (lotus-eyed)
• पुण्डरीकाक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्डरीक + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—पुण्डरीक इव अक्षिणी यस्य सः

• कलौ: in Kali (age)
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• नारायणः: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्मृतः: is remembered/called
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Predicate—passive sense/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘is remembered/called’ (elliptic ‘अस्ति’)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual attribution within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (nāma-smaraṇa focus)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A four-panel yuga tableau: Kṛta—Janārdana; Tretā—Madhusūdana; Dvāpara—Puṇḍarīkākṣa; Kali—Nārāyaṇa, with Prabhāsa as the unifying sacred backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Janārdana
• Madhusūdana
• Puṇḍarīkākṣa
• Nārāyaṇa
• Kṛta-yuga
• Tretā-yuga
• Dvāpara-yuga
• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The One Lord is approached through different names across the yugas; remembrance (smṛti) of Nārāyaṇa is emphasized for Kali-yuga devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), specifically the Nārāyaṇa-gṛha context within its Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it provides a yuga-wise theological identification of the Lord’s names for remembrance and worship.