Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1
ईश्वर उवाच । स्थित्वा द्वादशिजागरे क्रतु समे दुःखापहे पुण्यदे रम्यं भागवतं शृणोति पुरुषः कृत्वा हरेः पूजनम् । पुण्यं वाजिमखस्य कोटिगुणितं संप्राप्य भक्तोत्तमश्छित्त्वा पाशसमूह पक्षनिचयं प्राप्नोति कृष्णालयम्
īśvara uvāca | sthitvā dvādaśijāgare kratu same duḥkhāpahe puṇyade ramyaṃ bhāgavataṃ śṛṇoti puruṣaḥ kṛtvā hareḥ pūjanam | puṇyaṃ vājimakhasya koṭiguṇitaṃ saṃprāpya bhaktottamaśchittvā pāśasamūha pakṣanicayaṃ prāpnoti kṛṣṇālayam
Īśvara sprach: Wer die Dvādaśī-Vigil hält—ein Ritus, einem großen Opfer gleich, der Leid vertreibt und Verdienst schenkt—und nach der Verehrung Haris die liebliche Bhāgavata hört, der erlangt als vorzüglichster Bhakta ein Verdienst, das um ein Krore vervielfacht und das Aśvamedha-Opfer übertrifft. Indem er die ganze Menge der Schlingen und Fesseln durchtrennt, gelangt er zur Wohnstatt Kṛṣṇas.
Īśvara (the Lord, i.e., Śiva speaking in Purāṇic style)
Tirtha: Dvārakā
Type: kshetra
Scene: Īśvara (as authoritative speaker) proclaims the Dvādaśī vigil’s greatness; devotees worship Hari, then sit through the night listening to Bhāgavata; symbolic nooses (pāśa) snap and fall as a radiant path opens toward Kṛṣṇa’s abode.
FAQs
Devotional discipline—worship of Hari followed by attentive hearing of the Bhāgavata, supported by vrata-like vigilance—destroys bondage and leads the devotee toward liberation in Kṛṣṇa’s abode.
The verse occurs in the Dvārakā Māhātmya of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, thereby praising Dvārakā as the sacred setting where Hari-worship and Bhāgavata-hearing yield exceptional merit.
Observing a Dvādaśī jāgaraṇa (staying awake in sacred vigil), performing Hari-pūjā, and then listening to the Bhāgavata (Bhāgavata-śravaṇa) are prescribed as highly meritorious acts.