Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मरुद्रपदादूर्ध्वं यत्पदं चक्रपाणिनः । स्नानमात्रेण गोमत्यां तत्प्रोक्तं कृष्णसंनिधौ

Transliteration

brahmarudrapadādūrdhvaṃ yatpadaṃ cakrapāṇinaḥ | snānamātreṇa gomatyāṃ tatproktaṃ kṛṣṇasaṃnidhau

Translation

Jene Wohnstatt des Diskusträgers, die höher ist als die Stellungen Brahmās und Rudras, wird, so heißt es, schon durch das bloße Bad in der Gomatī erlangt – in der unmittelbaren Gegenwart Kṛṣṇas (Dvārakā).

Word by Word

• ब्रह्म-रुद्र-पदात्: above/from the status of Brahmā and Rudra
• ब्रह्म-रुद्र-पदात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्-रुद्र-पद (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन् + रुद्र + पद)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (ब्रह्मपदं च रुद्रपदं च) ततः ‘पदात्’

• ऊर्ध्वम्: above
• ऊर्ध्वम्: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूतं (adverbial accusative)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक

• पदम्: state/abode
• पदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• चक्रपाणिनः: of Cakrapāṇi (Viṣṇu)
• चक्रपाणिनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र-पाणि (प्रातिपदिक; चक्र + पाणि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (Viṣṇu)

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान-मात्र (प्रातिपदिक; स्नान + मात्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘स्नानस्य मात्रया’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• गोमत्याम्: in the Gomati
• गोमत्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• तत्: that (state)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संकेतार्थक

• प्रोक्तम्: is declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘declared’

• कृष्ण-संनिधौ: in the presence of Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्ण-संनिधौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण-संनिधि (प्रातिपदिक; कृष्ण + संनिधि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘कृष्णस्य संनिधिः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narrative convention within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomatī (Dvārakā) in Kṛṣṇa-sannidhi

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the Gomatī ghat, a devotee bathes while the Dvārakādhīśa/Kṛṣṇa presence is palpable; above, symbolic tiers show Brahmā and Rudra below, and Viṣṇu’s supreme abode above, indicating transcendence attained by simple snāna.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Rudra (Śiva)
• Cakrapāṇi (Viṣṇu)
• Kṛṣṇa
• Gomatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a supremely sanctified place, a simple act like tīrtha-bathing can open the path to the highest divine abode.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gomatī tīrtha in Dvārakā, explicitly framed as being in Kṛṣṇa’s immediate sacred presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in the Gomatī—presented as sufficient for attaining the supreme Vaiṣṇava state.