Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

तावद्भवभयं पुंसां गृहभंगश्च मूर्खता । यावन्न पश्यते भक्त्या कलौ कृष्णपुरीं नरः

Transliteration

tāvadbhavabhayaṃ puṃsāṃ gṛhabhaṃgaśca mūrkhatā | yāvanna paśyate bhaktyā kalau kṛṣṇapurīṃ naraḥ

Translation

Solange der Mensch im Kali-Zeitalter Kṛṣṇapurī (Dvārakā) nicht in Bhakti erblickt, leidet er unter der Furcht vor dem Saṃsāra, dem Zerfall des Hauses und der Finsternis der Torheit.

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long
• तावत्: Sambandha/Modifier (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय (correlative: so long)

• भवभयम्: fear of worldly existence
• भवभयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव + भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भवस्य भयम्)

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गृहभङ्गः: breaking of the household
• गृहभङ्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह + भङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गृहस्य भङ्गः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• मूर्खता: foolishness
• मूर्खता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्खता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यावत्: until, as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha/Modifier (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय (correlative: until/so long as)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• पश्यते: sees
• पश्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (instrumental: by/with devotion)

• कलौ: in the Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative)

• कृष्णपुरीम्: Kṛṣṇa’s city (Dvārakā)
• कृष्णपुरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कृष्णस्य पुरी)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Purāṇic māhātmya narration style within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛṣṇapurī (Dvārakā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary pilgrim family approaches Dvārakā’s sea-facing gates/temples at dawn; the city radiates as ‘Kṛṣṇapurī’, dispelling dark clouds labeled bhava-bhaya, gṛha-bhaṅga, and mūḍhatā.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇapurī
• Dvārakā
• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional darśana of Dvārakā/Kṛṣṇapurī in Kali-yuga is presented as a turning point that dispels saṃsāra-fear and the ignorance that drives suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṛṣṇapurī—identified in the Dvārakā Māhātmya as Dvārakā, the sacred city of Śrī Kṛṣṇa on the western coast.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa) is stated in this verse; the prescription emphasized here is bhaktyā paśyate—devotional pilgrimage/darśana (reverent seeing) of Dvārakā.