Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

नारसिंहेन रूपेण अन्तरिक्षे धृतस्त्वया । देवमूल महादेव उद्धृतं भुवनं त्वया

Transliteration

nārasiṃhena rūpeṇa antarikṣe dhṛtastvayā | devamūla mahādeva uddhṛtaṃ bhuvanaṃ tvayā

Translation

Assuming the form of Narasiṃha, you upheld all in the mid-region. O Mahādeva, very root of the gods, by you the worlds were lifted up and sustained.

Word by Word

• नारसिंहेन: by (as) Narasiṃha
• नारसिंहेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + सिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नरसिंहः इति समास (नरस्य सिंह इव/नर-सिंह-रूपः)

• रूपेण: in the form
• रूपेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अन्तरिक्षे: in the sky/at mid-air
• अन्तरिक्षे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• धृतः: was held
• धृतः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु) → धृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Kartr-karana (कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• देव-मूल: O root/source of the gods
• देव-मूल: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन; देवानां मूलम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; सम्बोधनरूपेण प्रयुक्तम्

• महादेव: O Mahādeva
• महादेव: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन; महांश्चासौ देवः इति कर्मधारय

• उद्धृतम्: was lifted up
• उद्धृतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्+हृ (धातु) → उद्धृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अत्र भुवनम् इति सह प्रथमा (predicate)

• भुवनम्: the world
• भुवनम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Kartr-karana (कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Devas (continuing the hymn)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jagannātha (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Narasiṃha in a radiant, protective stance in the mid-sky (antarikṣa), holding/sustaining the cosmic order—suggested by layered worlds or a mandala-like cosmos; Devas acknowledge him as the foundation of their power.

Characters & Entities

• Narasiṃha
• Mahādeva (as an epithet here)
• Devas
• Bhuvana (worlds)
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is the unseen support of the cosmos; remembering him as the foundation of the gods steadies faith amid upheaval.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, through a hymn that magnifies the Lord’s sustaining power—central to the kṣetra’s Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it continues the devotional stuti as the primary practice.