Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

तस्मिञ्जाते महाविष्णावदित्या चासुरान्तके । गुप्तया विवरद्वारे भयाद्दानवसंभवात्

Transliteration

tasmiñjāte mahāviṣṇāvadityā cāsurāntake | guptayā vivaradvāre bhayāddānavasaṃbhavāt

Translation

When that Great Viṣṇu—Aditi’s son, the slayer of the Asuras—was born, Aditi, out of fear of the Dānava-born foes, kept him concealed at a fissured doorway, a hidden cleft-entrance.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in him/when he
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• जाते: when (he) was born
• जाते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी—‘तस्मिन् जाते’

• महाविष्णौ: in/when Mahāviṣṇu (was born)
• महाविष्णौ: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाविष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय समास (महान् विष्णुः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध

• अदित्या: by Aditi
• अदित्या: Karana (Agent-in-instrumental/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• असुरान्तके: in the slayer of demons
• असुरान्तके: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—महाविष्णौ

• गुप्तया: secretly/hidden (by her)
• गुप्तया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुप्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—(अदित्या)

• विवरद्वारे: at the opening/doorway
• विवरद्वारे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवर + द्वार (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• भयात्: from fear
• भयात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• दानवसंभवात्: due to the arising of the Dānavas
• दानवसंभवात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास; पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya (to a king, addressed as rājan)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vivara-dvāra (Cleft-Entrance) associated with Vāmana/Trivikrama’s concealment (contextual)

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Aditi, anxious yet resolute, holds the radiant infant (Mahāviṣṇu as her son) and hides him near a rocky cleft-entrance; shadows of Dānava threat suggested beyond the threshold.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Aditi
• Asura
• Dānava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine descents (avatāras) unfold within sacred landscapes, and even apparent concealment serves dharma by protecting the divine purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred cleft/entrance and its surrounding tīrtha context in Arbuda-khaṇḍa, tied to Viṣṇu’s birth narrative (leading into the nirjhara-tīrtha in the next verse).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it sets the narrative basis for the tīrtha’s later sanctity.