Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

तच्छ्रुत्वा वासुदेवेन तस्य चक्रं सुदर्शनम् । वधाय पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ मुक्तं वज्रसमप्रभम्

Transliteration

tacchrutvā vāsudevena tasya cakraṃ sudarśanam | vadhāya pārthivaśreṣṭha muktaṃ vajrasamaprabham

Translation

En entendant cela, Vāsudeva lança son disque Sudarśana pour le tuer, ô meilleur des rois, flamboyant d'une splendeur pareille à la foudre.

Word by Word

• tat: that (it)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘श्रुत्वा’ = having heard

• vāsudevena: by Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• vāsudevena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• cakram: discus
• cakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• sudarśanam: Sudarśana (beautiful/auspicious to behold)
• sudarśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (cakram इति विशेष्यस्य)

• vadhāya: for killing
• vadhāya: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• pārthivaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• pārthivaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (vocative), एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; ‘पार्थिवानां श्रेष्ठः’

• muktam: released, hurled
• muktam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: muc (मुच् धातु) → mukta (क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘चक्रम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘released/let loose’

• vajrasamaprabham: having radiance like a thunderbolt
• vajrasamaprabham: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vajra + sama + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (चक्रस्य); ‘वज्रसमप्रभा यस्य तत्’ (वज्रतुल्यप्रभम्)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-type narration within Māhātmya frame)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (māhātmya addressee: 'mहीपते/पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vāsudeva, poised and serene, releases the blazing Sudarśana cakra—thunderbolt-bright—toward a doomed adversary as gods look on.

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva
• Viṣṇu
• Sudarśana Cakra
• Vajra (as simile)
• Rāhu (implied target)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine law protects sacred order; when adharma intrudes, the Lord’s power acts decisively to restore balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.