Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

पादयोः पांसुकणिका यावत्तिष्ठंति भूतले । तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि जागरी वसते दिवि

Transliteration

pādayoḥ pāṃsukaṇikā yāvattiṣṭhaṃti bhūtale | tāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi jāgarī vasate divi

Translation

Tant que les grains de poussière des pieds demeurent sur la terre, durant autant de milliers d’années celui qui veille en vigile séjourne au ciel.

Word by Word

• पादयोः: of the feet
• पादयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी, द्विवचन — Genitive/Locative dual; here genitive ‘of (his) feet’

• पांसुकणिका: a speck/grain of dust
• पांसुकणिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पांसु + कणिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; subject

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक अव्यय (correlative: as long as/so long)

• तिष्ठन्ति: remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — they stand/remain

• भूतले: on the ground/earth
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• तावत्: so long
• तावत्: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक अव्यय (correlative: so long/that long)

• वर्षसहस्राणि: (for) thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्राणि: Kala-adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (काल-अत्यन्त-संयोगे), बहुवचन — Accusative plural used adverbially ‘for thousands of years’

• जागरी: the vigil-keeper
• जागरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागरिन्/जागरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular; ‘one who keeps vigil’

• वसते: dwells
• वसते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — dwells

• दिवि: in heaven
• दिवि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्/द्यौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa-jāgara (Dvārakā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee leaving the vigil at dawn; tiny dust motes rise from the feet and sparkle like stars, while above, a celestial path opens to svarga where the devotee is welcomed for ‘thousands of years’ measured by those dust particles.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga (heaven)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa emphasizes the vast, enduring merit of a devotional vigil through a vivid time-measure metaphor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā’s Vaiṣṇava observance context in the Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Keeping the night-vigil (jāgaraṇa), whose merit is said to yield long heavenly residence.