Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अमृतेनोदरस्थेन म्रियन्ते सर्वदेवताः । कण्ठस्थितविषेणापि यो जीवति स पातु वः

Transliteration

amṛtenodarasthena mriyante sarvadevatāḥ | kaṇṭhasthitaviṣeṇāpi yo jīvati sa pātu vaḥ

Translation

Bahkan para dewa akan binasa jika amṛta terperangkap di dalam perut; namun dia yang tetap hidup walau racun berada di kerongkong—semoga dia melindungi kamu semua.

Word by Word

• अमृतेन: by nectar
• अमृतेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; Instrumental singular (by/with nectar)

• उदरस्थेन: situated in the belly
• उदरस्थेन: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उदर-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; उदर + स्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular; ‘being in the belly’ qualifying अमृतेन

• म्रियन्ते: die
• म्रियन्ते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; Present indicative, 3rd person plural, आत्मनेपद

• सर्वदेवताः: all the deities
• सर्वदेवताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-देवता (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + देवता)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural (all deities)

• कण्ठस्थितविषेण: by poison lodged in the throat
• कण्ठस्थितविषेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्ठ-स्थित-विष (प्रातिपदिक; कण्ठ + स्थित + विष)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular; ‘with poison situated in the throat’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (Particle/सम्बन्ध-निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) = ‘even/also’

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Relative pronoun, nominative singular

• जीवति: lives
• जीवति: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Present indicative, 3rd person singular, परस्मैपद

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Demonstrative pronoun, nominative singular

• पातु: may (he) protect
• पातु: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्-समर्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; Imperative/benedictive sense ‘may he protect’, परस्मैपद

• वः: you (your)
• वः: Sampradāna (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural ‘of you/your’ (also used as dative in Vedic; here genitive)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual attribution within Purāṇic narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic hymn: on one side, devas weakened despite ‘nectar in the belly’ (unassimilated immortality); on the other, Śiva as Nīlakaṇṭha stands serene with blue throat, holding the world’s poison, granting protection to the assembly.

Characters & Entities

• Devatāḥ (gods)
• Amṛta (nectar)
• Viṣa (poison)
• Śiva (implied by the ‘poison in the throat’ motif)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True divinity is shown by self-sacrificing protection—bearing poison for the world’s welfare, as Śiva is famed to do.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a protective benediction within the Dvārakā Māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A maṅgala-prārthanā (protective invocation) is implied—seeking protection from the one symbolically identified with poison-in-the-throat.