Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

पांथिक उवाच । श्रीमद्द्वारवतीं दृष्ट्वा ह्यागतोऽस्म्यत्र राक्षस । वज्रलेपहरोऽस्माकं प्रभावः कृष्णदर्शनात्

Transliteration

pāṃthika uvāca | śrīmaddvāravatīṃ dṛṣṭvā hyāgato'smyatra rākṣasa | vajralepaharo'smākaṃ prabhāvaḥ kṛṣṇadarśanāt

Translation

Der Pilger sprach: „O Rākṣasa, nachdem ich die ruhmreiche Dvāravatī (Dvārakā) geschaut habe, bin ich hierher gekommen. Unsere Kraft—aus dem Darśana Kṛṣṇas geboren—nimmt das Leiden namens ‚vajra-lepa‘ hinweg.“

Word by Word

• पांथिकः: the traveler
• पांथिकः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पांथिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• श्रीमद्-द्वारवतीम्: the glorious Dvāravatī
• श्रीमद्-द्वारवतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमद् (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वारवती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्रीमती द्वारवती), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• आगतः: come
• आगतः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Kriya (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• राक्षस: O rākṣasa
• राक्षस: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• वज्रलेपहरः: remover of the vajra-coating
• वज्रलेपहरः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र-लेप-हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुष (वज्रलेपं हरति इति/वज्रलेपस्य हरः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अस्माकम्: of us/our
• अस्माकम्: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), बहुवचन

• प्रभावः: power, efficacy
• प्रभावः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कृष्णदर्शनात्: from seeing Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णदर्शनात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण-दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य दर्शनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Pāṃthika (Kṛṣṇa’s pilgrim)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā/Dvāravatī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The pilgrim speaks confidently to the rākṣasa: behind him, a luminous vision of Dvāravatī by the sea—temple spires, flags, and waves; a radiant aura labeled by implication as ‘Kṛṣṇa-darśana-prabhāva’ dissolves a hard dark crust (vajra-lepa).

Characters & Entities

• Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• Rākṣasa
• Vajra-lepa
• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kṛṣṇa-centered devotion generates a purifying potency capable of removing deep-seated spiritual bondage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvāravatī/Dvārakā is explicitly praised as a glorious sacred city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse emphasizes darśana of Kṛṣṇa and pilgrimage to Dvārakā.