Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यदि तृतीयं क्रमणं याचसे जगदीश्वर । पुनर्वामनतां याहि बलिर्दास्यति तत्पदम्

Transliteration

yadi tṛtīyaṃ kramaṇaṃ yācase jagadīśvara | punarvāmanatāṃ yāhi balirdāsyati tatpadam

Translation

«Si tu demandes le troisième pas, ô Seigneur du monde, retourne donc à la forme de Vāmana ; Bali donnera ce pas à ce même Vāmana.»

Word by Word

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-अव्यय (conditional: if)

• tṛtīyam: third
• tṛtīyam: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; क्रमणं-विशेषण

• kramaṇam: step / stride
• kramaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kramaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• yācase: you ask / beg
• yācase: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yāc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• jagad-īśvara: O Lord of the world
• jagad-īśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जगतः ईश्वरः)

• punar: again
• punar: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: again)

• vāmanatām: dwarfhood / the Vāmana state
• vāmanatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāmana-tā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; भाववाचक-प्रत्यय (तल्)

• yāhi: go
• yāhi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• baliḥ: Bali
• baliḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

• dāsyati: will give
• dāsyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; पदम्-विशेषण

• padam: step / measure
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

Speaker

Bāṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker admonishes: if the third step is to be asked, return to dwarf-form; Bali will give that step to Vāmana—emphasizing ritual propriety amid the looming Trivikrama presence.

Characters & Entities

• Bāṇa
• Jagadīśvara (Viṣṇu)
• Vāmana
• Bali

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It raises the dharmic question of intention in giving—whether a gift is bound to the recipient’s perceived form or to the Supreme behind the form.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This debate is narrated within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya of Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, enhancing the site’s scriptural richness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse indirectly concerns dāna protocol: a vowed gift is to be given as intended, to the properly identified recipient.