Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच । एवमद्भुतमाहात्म्यं द्वारकायां मुनीश्वराः । सर्वेषां क्षेत्रतीर्थानां महापापविदारक्म्

Transliteration

śrīprahlāda uvāca | evamadbhutamāhātmyaṃ dvārakāyāṃ munīśvarāḥ | sarveṣāṃ kṣetratīrthānāṃ mahāpāpavidārakm

Translation

Śrī Prahlāda sprach: O ihr Herren unter den Weisen! So ist die wunderbare Größe Dvārakās—eine Kraft, die große Sünden zerschmettert, und das Wesen aller heiligen Kṣetras und Tīrthas.

Word by Word

• śrī-prahlādaḥ: Śrī Prahlāda
• śrī-prahlādaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + prahlāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (honorific)

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

• evam-adbhuta-māhātmyam: such wondrous greatness (māhātmya)
• evam-adbhuta-māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय) + adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः ('such wonderful greatness')

• dvārakāyām: in Dvārakā
• dvārakāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• munīśvarāḥ: O lords of sages
• munīśvarāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/Vocative sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः ('lords among sages')

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (to kṣetratīrthānām)

• kṣetra-tīrthānām: of (all) sacred fields and tīrthas
• kṣetra-tīrthānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व-प्राय), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः

• mahā-pāpa-vidārakam: destroying great sins
• mahā-pāpa-vidārakam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vidāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः ('destroyer of great sins'); विशेषण (to māhātmyam)

Speaker

Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munīśvarāḥ (assembly of sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahlāda, serene and radiant with devotion, addresses an assembly of sages, gesturing toward an imagined vision of Dvārakā as a luminous sacred city containing the potency of all tīrthas; the atmosphere is reverent and wondrous.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda
• Dvārakā
• Ṛṣis (munīśvarāḥ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dvārakā is praised as extraordinarily purifying—capable of breaking even grave sin—reinforcing faith in pilgrimage and sacred place devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, presented as a supreme kṣetra embodying the merit of many tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is detailed in this verse; it introduces the theme of Dvārakā’s sin-destroying potency.