Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

एवं तीर्थयुता तत्र द्वारका मुक्तिदायका । सेवनीया प्रयत्नेन प्राप्य मानुष्यमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

evaṃ tīrthayutā tatra dvārakā muktidāyakā | sevanīyā prayatnena prāpya mānuṣyamuttamam

Translation

So gewährt Dvārakā, erfüllt von Tīrthas, die Befreiung. Nachdem man diese vortreffliche menschliche Geburt erlangt hat, soll man sich ihr mit Eifer zuwenden und ihr durch Pilgergang und Hingabe dienen.

Word by Word

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• tīrtha-yutā: endowed with tīrthas
• tīrtha-yutā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of dvārakā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yuta (कृदन्त; √yuj धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थैः युता/तीर्थयुक्ता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• dvārakā: Dvārakā
• dvārakā: Kartā/Pradhāna (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• mukti-dāyakā: giver of liberation
• mukti-dāyakā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of dvārakā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + dāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (मुक्तिं ददाति/मुक्तेः दायिका); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• sevanīyā: to be served/visited
• sevanīyā: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (Predicative adjective: 'should be served')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sevanīya (कृदन्त; √sev धातु)
• Form: भाव्य/अनियत-कर्तव्यतार्थे (णीयत्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• prayatnena: with effort
• prayatnena: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• prāpya: having obtained
• prāpya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• mānuṣyam: human birth/state
• mānuṣyam: Karma (Object of prāpya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• uttamam: excellent, supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of mānuṣyam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

Speaker

Bṛhaspati (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (Dvāravatī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Indra (Śatakratu)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred city of Dvārakā filled with multiple tīrthas; pilgrims arriving with folded hands, performing sevā and circumambulation, with the sea and temple spires in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakā
• Tīrtha
• Mukti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human birth should be used for dharmic striving—especially pilgrimage and devotion to liberating sacred places like Dvārakā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, described as tīrtha-filled and liberation-giving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription: sevanīyā—one should make effort to frequent/serve (i.e., undertake pilgrimage and devotional observance) at Dvārakā.