Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

पातालनिलया ये तु ते तत्रैव निवेशिताः । देवानां परमो हर्षः संजातो बलिनिग्रहे

Transliteration

pātālanilayā ye tu te tatraiva niveśitāḥ | devānāṃ paramo harṣaḥ saṃjāto balinigrahe

Translation

Ceux qui demeuraient en Pātāla furent établis là même. Une joie suprême s’éleva parmi les dieux lorsque Bali fut dompté.

Word by Word

• pātālanilayāḥ: dwelling in Pātāla
• pātālanilayāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘ye/te’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātāla + nilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: पाताले निलयः येषाम् (sense: ‘dwelling in Pātāla’)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (relative pronoun)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (correlative pronoun)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• niveśitāḥ: were settled
• niveśitāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni + viś (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि: ‘were settled/placed’

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• paramaḥ: supreme/greatest
• paramaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• harṣaḥ: joy
• harṣaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: harṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saṃjātaḥ: arose
• saṃjātaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + jan (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past participle, क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भावे: ‘arose/occurred’

• balinigrahe: at the subduing of Bali
• balinigrahe: Adhikaraṇa (Occasion/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bali + nigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: बलिनः निग्रहः

Speaker

Narrator within the māhātmya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Netherworld beings remain settled in Pātāla; above, the devas celebrate Bali’s subduing—two-tier cosmic tableau: underworld calm, heaven rejoicing.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Devas
• Bali

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When disruptive power is restrained, collective welfare follows—symbolized by the devas’ joy and the reordering of realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding narrative belongs to Vastrāpathakṣetra māhātmya, though this verse focuses on Pātāla and Bali’s restraint.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it narrates the outcome (nigraha) and its cosmic effect.