Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

प्रोक्तव्यो भगवान्वाक्यं त्वया देवो जनार्दनः । यथाऽवतीर्य भूपृष्ठे भारमस्याः प्रणाशयेत्

Transliteration

proktavyo bhagavānvākyaṃ tvayā devo janārdanaḥ | yathā'vatīrya bhūpṛṣṭhe bhāramasyāḥ praṇāśayet

Translation

તારે ભગવાન જનાર્દનને આ વચન કહેવું છે કે તેઓ ભૂપૃષ્ઠ પર અવતરીને તેનો ભાર નાશ કરે।

Word by Word

• proktavyaḥ: is to be told / should be spoken
• proktavyaḥ: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + vac (वच् धातु) + tavya (तव्य)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (to be spoken)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (भगवत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• vākyam: message / statement
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भेदेन/अप्पोजिशन (apposition to जनार्दनः)

• janārdanaḥ: Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• janārdanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• yathā: so that / as
• yathā: Sambandha (Purpose/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यथार्थक (so that/as)

• avatīrya: having descended
• avatīrya: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ava + tṝ (तॄ धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• bhū-pṛṣṭhe: on the surface of the earth
• bhū-pṛṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध: भूः पृष्ठम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• bhāram: burden
• bhāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• asyāḥ: of her (of this earth)
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• praṇāśayet: may destroy / should remove
• praṇāśayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + naś (नश् धातु) + ṇic (णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative: cause to perish)

Speaker

Brahmā (instruction relayed by Nārada), implied

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An envoy stands before radiant Janārdana, delivering Brahmā’s message; behind, a vision of earth awaiting relief; the deity’s aura suggests imminent descent.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Janārdana (Viṣṇu)
• Bhūmi (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The avatāra principle: when the world’s weight of adharma grows, the Divine descends to restore order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of the narrative prelude in the mahātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a directive about divine action, not a human rite.