Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

अपि स्मरसि कल्याणि जातो रघुकुले स्वयम् । लोकानुग्रहमन्विच्छन्भूभारहरणोत्सुकः

Transliteration

api smarasi kalyāṇi jāto raghukule svayam | lokānugrahamanvicchanbhūbhāraharaṇotsukaḥ

Translation

O auspicious lady, do you remember how He Himself was born in the Raghu lineage—seeking the welfare of the worlds, eager to remove the burden of the earth?

Word by Word

• api: indeed?/also
• api: Sambandha (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/सम्भावनार्थक (particle: also/whether)

• smarasi: do you remember
• smarasi: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु); लट्
• Form: लट् (वर्तमानकाल); मध्यमपुरुष; एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• kalyāṇi: O auspicious one
• kalyāṇi: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalyāṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचनम् (vocative)

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (of implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jan (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनम्

• raghukule: in the Raghu dynasty
• raghukule: Adhikaraṇa (location/lineage)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raghukula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचनम् (locative singular)

• svayam: himself/yourself
• svayam: Kriya-visheshaṇa (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्वयम् (reflexive adverb)

• lokānugraham: favoring the world
• lokānugraham: Karman (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + anugraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (लोकानां अनुग्रहः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचनम्

• anvicchan: seeking
• anvicchan: Karta (agent; participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√iṣ (धातु) (इच्छ्) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदी

• bhūbhāraharaṇotsukaḥ: eager to remove the earth’s burden
• bhūbhāraharaṇotsukaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (of implied subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + haraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + utsuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (भू-भार-हरण-उत्सुकः; पृथ्वीभारस्य हरणे उत्सुकः) बहुपद-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचनम्

Speaker

Devarṣi (divine sage) addressing Rukmiṇī (deduced from context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (avatāra-smṛti tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator reminds an auspicious lady of the Lord’s earlier birth as Rāma in the Raghu line—two avatāra memories (Rāma and Kṛṣṇa) interwoven, showing the same compassionate mission to lighten earth’s burden.

Characters & Entities

• Raghu-kula
• Hari (implied)
• Bhū-bhāra (burden of earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord incarnates not from necessity but out of compassion—protecting the world and restoring balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā Māhātmya frames the teaching, while recalling earlier avatāra history to deepen devotion to Hari associated with Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a remembrance prompt (smaraṇa) that functions as devotional practice.