Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

ततोऽसौ पश्यते यावद्गत्वा तस्य च संनिधौ । चतुर्बाहुं महाकायं शंखचक्रगदाधरम्

Transliteration

tato'sau paśyate yāvadgatvā tasya ca saṃnidhau | caturbāhuṃ mahākāyaṃ śaṃkhacakragadādharam

Translation

Alors il regarda, et s’étant approché, il vit le Seigneur aux quatre bras, au corps immense, portant la conque, le disque et la massue.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = ‘thereupon/then’

• asau: he (that person)
• asau: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paśyate: sees
• paśyate: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yāvat: until/as far as
• yāvat: Kāla/Parimāṇa (Limit marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण/अवधि-सूचक) = ‘as far as/until’

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययभाव) = ‘having gone’

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय-बोधक)

• saṃnidhau: in the presence/nearby
• saṃnidhau: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• caturbāhum: four-armed
• caturbāhum: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (पुरुषम् इति)

• mahākāyam: great-bodied/huge
• mahākāyam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• śaṃkhacakragadādharam: bearing conch, discus, and mace
• śaṃkhacakragadādharam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaṃkha + cakra + gadā + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण; (उपपद-तत्पुरुषः: शंखं चक्रं गदां च धरतीति)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet; continuing narrator.

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jarā comes close and beholds the Lord in full divine manifestation—four-armed, immense, holding conch, discus, and mace—radiant against the coastal horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (four-armed form)
• Conch (śaṅkha)
• Discus (cakra)
• Mace (gadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True recognition arises when the divine is seen as it is—darśana transforms fear and confusion into reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where the vision of Viṣṇu’s four-armed form is narrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes a darśana (vision) of the Lord’s iconic form.