Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

विश्वरूपेण वै येन पाताले क्षपितो बलिः । त्रिःसप्तवारं येनैव क्षत्रियानवनीतले

Transliteration

viśvarūpeṇa vai yena pātāle kṣapito baliḥ | triḥsaptavāraṃ yenaiva kṣatriyānavanītale

Translation

Par la forme universelle de qui Bali fut précipité en Pātāla ; et par qui, sur la face de la terre, les kṣatriya furent détruits vingt-sept fois.

Word by Word

• विश्वरूपेण: in a universal form
• विश्वरूपेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहि (यस्य विश्वं रूपम्)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Prayojaka-nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karta/Karaṇa (Agent/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/कर्तृ), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• पाताले: in the netherworld
• पाताले: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• क्षपितः: was destroyed/banished
• क्षपितः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि (was destroyed/removed)

• बलिः: Bali
• बलिः: Karta (Grammatical subject of passive/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रिःसप्तवारम्: twenty-one times
• त्रिःसप्तवारम्: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिः + सप्त + वार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (adverbial: ‘three times seven times’ = 21 times)

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karta/Karaṇa (Agent/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Prayojaka-nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (restrictive particle)

• क्षत्रियान्: Kṣatriyas
• क्षत्रियान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन

• अवनीतले: on the surface of the earth
• अवनीतले: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवनीतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अवनेः तलम्)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; likely Sūta addressing sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic Viśvarūpa overwhelms Bali, opening into vast realms; then Paraśurāma, axe in hand, stands amid repeated campaigns against oppressive kṣatriyas—depicted as a stern dharma-corrective force.

Characters & Entities

• Bali
• Pātāla
• Viśvarūpa (cosmic form)
• Kṣatriyas
• Paraśurāma (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When power becomes oppressive, the Divine restrains it—sometimes through cosmic authority, sometimes through decisive correction—to re-establish dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse summarizes avatāra deeds and their dharmic purpose.