Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

बलिरुवाच । सुतलस्थस्य मे नाथ कथं चरणयोस्तव । दर्शनं पूजनं भोगो निवसामि यथासुखम्

Transliteration

baliruvāca | sutalasthasya me nātha kathaṃ caraṇayostava | darśanaṃ pūjanaṃ bhogo nivasāmi yathāsukham

Translation

Bali sprach: „O Herr, wenn ich in Sutala verbleiben soll, wie werde ich deine heiligen Füße schauen, dich verehren und deine Gegenwart genießen, damit ich in Frieden wohnen kann?“

Word by Word

• बलिः: Bali
• बलिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सुतलस्थस्य: of me who am in Sutala
• सुतलस्थस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुतल-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मे)

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• नाथ: O Lord
• नाथ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (interrogative adverb)

• चरणयोः: at (your) feet
• चरणयोः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), द्विवचन

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दर्शनम्: seeing / audience
• दर्शनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पूजनम्: worship
• पूजनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भोगः: enjoyment
• भोगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• निवसामि: I dwell / live
• निवसामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• यथासुखम्: comfortably / as I please
• यथासुखम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा-सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (adverbial)

Speaker

Bali

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sutala

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Trivikrama/Vāmana (Bhagavān)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bali, humbled yet ardent, asks how he can behold the Lord’s feet and worship if confined to Sutala; his posture is pleading, eyes fixed on the divine feet, embodying surrender.

Characters & Entities

• Bali
• Nātha (Viṣṇu)
• Sutala
• Caraṇa (Lord’s feet)
• Pūjā
• Darśana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion seeks continued darśana and worship even amid exile or hardship; bhakti turns any realm into a place of spiritual refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate reference is Sutala (a nether realm), while the overarching text belongs to the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya in Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship (pūjana) and the pursuit of darśana are implied as Bali’s ongoing devotional practice.