Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सार्पं चैव हृषीकेशो वायव्यस्य प्रशान्तये । नारसिंहं नृसिंहोऽपि प्रेषयामास पाण्डव

Transliteration

sārpaṃ caiva hṛṣīkeśo vāyavyasya praśāntaye | nārasiṃhaṃ nṛsiṃho'pi preṣayāmāsa pāṇḍava

Translation

വായവ്യാസ്ത്രത്തെ ശമിപ്പാൻ ഹൃഷീകേശൻ സാർപാസ്ത്രവും പ്രേഷിച്ചു. തുടർന്ന്, ഹേ പാണ്ഡവ, നൃസിംഹനും നാരസിംഹാസ്ത്രം അയച്ചു.

Word by Word

• सार्पम्: the serpent-form (entity)
• सार्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सार्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; 'सर्पसम्बन्धि/सर्परूप' इति

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

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

• हृषीकेशः: Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu)
• हृषीकेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीकेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; विष्णोः नाम

• वायव्यस्य: of the Vāyavya (wind-related)
• वायव्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; 'वायव्य' = वायुसम्बन्धि

• प्रशान्तये: for pacification
• प्रशान्तये: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रशान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• नारसिंहम्: Nārasiṃha (the man-lion form)
• नारसिंहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारसिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; 'नरसिंहसम्बन्धि/नरसिंह-रूप'

• नृसिंहः: Nṛsiṃha
• नृसिंहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृसिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चय-अव्यय (also/even)

• प्रेषयामास: sent
• प्रेषयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रेषय् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative sense 'प्रेषयति'

• पाण्डव: O Pāṇḍava
• पाण्डव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन

Speaker

Narrator

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava (addressed as ‘Pāṇḍava’/‘Pārtha’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battlefield where Keśava (Hṛṣīkeśa) releases the Sārpa-astra to quell the Vāyavya-astra; simultaneously a Nārasiṃha-force manifests as a roaring lion-man radiance, countering hostile energies; warriors recoil amid swirling wind and serpentine coils of light.

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa (Kṛṣṇa)
• Nṛsiṃha
• Sārpa Astra
• Vāyavya Astra
• Nārasiṃha Astra
• Pāṇḍava (Arjuna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord’s forms and powers are many, deployed to restore order; the narrative teaches confidence in divine guardianship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā sacred region is the background; this verse itself does not name a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.