Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

गोपीचंदनपुंड्रेण द्वादश्यां जागरे कृते । विष्णोर्नामसहस्रस्य पाठेन मुक्तिमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

gopīcaṃdanapuṃḍreṇa dvādaśyāṃ jāgare kṛte | viṣṇornāmasahasrasya pāṭhena muktimāpnuyāt

Translation

Mit dem vaiṣṇavischen Puṇḍra aus Gopīcandana auf der Stirn, in der Dvādaśī-Nacht wachend und die tausend Namen Viṣṇus rezitierend, erlangt man Befreiung.

Word by Word

• गोपीचन्दनपुण्ड्रेण: with a Gopī-candana tilaka mark
• गोपीचन्दनपुण्ड्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपी-चन्दन-पुण्ड्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—गोपीचन्दनेन कृतः पुण्ड्रः / गोपीचन्दनस्य पुण्ड्रः (तत्पुरुष-भावः)

• द्वादश्याम्: on the Dvādaśī (12th lunar day)
• द्वादश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जागरे: in the vigil (night-wake)
• जागरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘जागर’ = जागरण/रात्रिजागरण

• कृते: when (it is) done
• कृते: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘कृते’ = ‘when done’

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नामसहस्रस्य: of the thousand names
• नामसहस्रस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाम-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—नाम्नां सहस्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• पाठेन: by recitation
• पाठेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मुक्तिम्: liberation
• मुक्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आप्नुयात्: may obtain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Dvārakā Māhātmya; specific speaker not stated in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied) the inquirer/assembly within the Purāṇic narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at Dvārakā, forehead marked with bright gopīcandana ūrdhva-puṇḍra, seated through the night on Dvādaśī with a palm-leaf manuscript or rosary, reciting Viṣṇu-sahasranāma before Śrīpati’s shrine; lamps flicker, conch and sea-wind mingle.

Characters & Entities

• Gopīcandana
• Dvādaśī
• Viṣṇu
• Viṣṇu Sahasranāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline—tilaka, vigil, and divine-name recitation—is presented as a direct path to mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is taught within Dvārakā Māhātmya, associating Vaiṣṇava vrata-rites with Dvārakā’s sacred milieu.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Apply Gopīcandana puṇḍra, observe Dvādaśī night vigil (jāgara), and recite Viṣṇu Sahasranāma.