Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

यत्र यत्र गृहे देवो लीलया डिण्डमं न्यसेत् । भाराक्रान्तं गृहं पार्थ तत्रतत्र विनश्यति

Transliteration

yatra yatra gṛhe devo līlayā ḍiṇḍamaṃ nyaset | bhārākrāntaṃ gṛhaṃ pārtha tatratatra vinaśyati

Translation

ഹേ പാർഥാ! ദേവൻ ലീലാഭാവത്തിൽ ഏത് ഏത് വീട്ടിൽ ആ ‘ഡിണ്ഡിമ’ വെച്ചുവോ, ആ വീട് അതിന്റെ ഭാരത്തിൽ അമർന്നു അവിടെയേ തന്നെ ഇടിഞ്ഞു നശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb)

• yatra: wherever
• yatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (repetition for distributive sense)

• gṛhe: in a house
• gṛhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• devaḥ: the god (Lord Śiva)
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• līlayā: playfully; by sport
• līlayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: līlā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• ḍiṇḍamam: a kettle-drum
• ḍiṇḍamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍiṇḍima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nyaset: would place; should set down
• nyaset: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhāra-ākrāntam: overburdened; oppressed by weight
• bhāra-ākrāntam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + ākrānta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘भारेण आक्रान्तम्’) विशेषणम् (gṛham इति)

• gṛham: the house
• gṛham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pārtha: O Pārtha (Arjuna)
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• tatra-tatra: there and there; in each such place
• tatra-tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय) + tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-युग्म (distributive adverb)

• vinaśyati: perishes; is destroyed
• vinaśyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√naś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present indicative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced); addressed to Pārtha (Arjuna) within the narrative frame

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ekaśālā (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva casually sets down a massive drum-like ḍiṇḍima in a house; the structure buckles under the impossible weight and collapses instantly as onlookers recoil in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārtha (Arjuna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine presence is not symbolic only—it is powerfully real; worldly structures cannot ‘bear’ the Lord’s manifested weight when He chooses to reveal it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape where the Dīṇḍimeśvara episode unfolds as a local sanctifying miracle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse prepares for later emphasis on the salvific value of encountering the deity (darśana/sparśana).