Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

विष्णुरुवाच । अहं तव गृहे राजन्स्वयमेव न संशयः । अवतारं करिष्यामि कृत्वा रूपचतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

viṣṇuruvāca | ahaṃ tava gṛhe rājansvayameva na saṃśayaḥ | avatāraṃ kariṣyāmi kṛtvā rūpacatuṣṭayam

Translation

Вишну сказал: «О царь, я сам, без сомнения, рожусь в твоём доме. Приняв четыре облика, я совершу нисхождение — аватару».

Word by Word

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gṛhe: in (the) house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• svayam: personally, oneself
• svayam: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Emphatic to subject)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (reflexive adverb)

• eva: indeed, certainly
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (elliptic: ‘there is no doubt’)

• avatāram: incarnation, descent
• avatāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avatāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kariṣyāmi: I will make/undertake
• kariṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kṛtvā: having made/assuming
• kṛtvā: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• rūpa-catuṣṭayam: a set of four forms
• rūpa-catuṣṭayam: Karma (Object of kṛtvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (रूपाणां चतुṣṭयम्)

Speaker

Viṣṇu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king (rājā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu proclaims he will be born in the king’s house, manifesting in four forms; the scene can show four luminous emanations emerging from Viṣṇu or four infant-forms symbolically indicated around the king’s palace.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord not only grants gifts but can grant himself—entering a devotee’s lineage for dharma’s purposes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha setting is validated as a place where Viṣṇu’s direct assurance and avatāra-promise occur.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a divine promise of incarnation (avatāra) in four forms.