Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

वज्रादप्युत्तमं चक्रं यत्तद्विष्णुपरिग्रहे । दैत्यदानवसंघानां तदायत्तो जयोऽभवत्

Transliteration

vajrādapyuttamaṃ cakraṃ yattadviṣṇuparigrahe | daityadānavasaṃghānāṃ tadāyatto jayo'bhavat

Translation

परंतु वज्रापेक्षाही श्रेष्ठ ते चक्र आहे, जे विष्णूच्या करात विराजते. दैत्य-दानवांच्या संघांवरचा विजय त्याच्यावरच अवलंबून होता.

Word by Word

• vajrāt: than the Vajra / from the thunderbolt
• vajrāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vajra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative singular (5th/पञ्चमी)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle; here with comparative sense: "even/also"

• uttamam: superior
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative singular (1st/2nd); qualifies "cakram"

• cakram: the discus (Cakra)
• cakram: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative singular (1st/2nd)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative singular; relative pronoun referring to "cakram"

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative singular; correlative to "yat"

• viṣṇu-parigrahe: in Viṣṇu's possession
• viṣṇu-parigrahe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + parigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative singular (7th/सप्तमी); tatpuruṣa: viṣṇu-parigraha = "Viṣṇu's possession/keeping"

• daitya-dānava-saṃghānām: of the hosts of Daityas and Dānavas
• daitya-dānava-saṃghānām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive plural (6th/षष्ठी); tatpuruṣa chain: "of the hosts of Daityas and Dānavas"

• tat-āyattaḥ: dependent on that
• tat-āyattaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + āyatta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from ā√yam/√yat "depend")
• Form: Masculine, Nominative singular (1st/प्रथमा); tatpuruṣa: tad-āyatta = "dependent on that"; agrees with "jayaḥ"

• jayaḥ: victory
• jayaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative singular (1st/प्रथमा)

• abhavat: was / occurred
• abhavat: Kriyā (Main predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person singular (प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन), Parasmaipada

Speaker

Śakra (Indra)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu holding the radiant Sudarśana-cakra, with defeated daityas/dānavas in the background; the weapon’s brilliance outshines the vajra motif.

Characters & Entities

• Cakra
• Viṣṇu
• Vajra
• Daityas
• Dānavas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine victory is shown as arising from alignment with the sustaining power of Viṣṇu and the righteous cause.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya context frames the teaching, though the verse itself is pan-Purāṇic in scope.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a mythic-theological assertion about Viṣṇu’s cakra and cosmic victory.