Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

द्वादशात्मा स विज्ञेयो मोक्षदः सर्वदेहिनाम् । एकचक्रांकितो यस्तु द्वारवत्यां सुशोभनः

Transliteration

dvādaśātmā sa vijñeyo mokṣadaḥ sarvadehinām | ekacakrāṃkito yastu dvāravatyāṃ suśobhanaḥ

Translation

Dies ist als „zwölfförmig“ zu erkennen, als Spender der Befreiung für alle verkörperten Wesen. Doch das, was mit einem einzigen Diskuszeichen gezeichnet ist und in Dvāravatī überaus schön erstrahlt…

Word by Word

• dvādaśātmā: one of twelvefold nature
• dvādaśātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa + ātman (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (dvādaśa-ātmā: having twelve forms/aspects)

• saḥ: he/that one
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vijñeyaḥ: to be known/recognized
• vijñeyaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + jñā (धातु) + ya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्तव्यतार्थक कृदन्तः (gerundive/भाव्य), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; ‘सः’ इत्यस्य विधेय-विशेषणम् (to be known)

• mokṣadaḥ: giver of liberation
• mokṣadaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa + da (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mokṣasya dātā: giver of liberation)

• sarvadehinām: of all embodied beings
• sarvadehinām: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + dehin (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (sarve dehinaḥ: all embodied beings)

• ekacakrāṃkitaḥ: marked with a single discus
• ekacakrāṃkitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka + cakra + aṅkita (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ekena cakreṇa aṅkitaḥ: marked with one discus)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun: who)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• dvāravatyām: in Dvāravatī (Dwaraka)
• dvāravatyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāravatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचनम्

• suśobhanaḥ: very splendid/beautiful
• suśobhanaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + śobhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सु-शोभनः: very beautiful)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvāravatī/Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Viṣṇu-presence in Dvāravatī, emphasized through a single Sudarśana-cakra mark; the city’s sea-facing sanctity frames the ‘twelve-formed’ mystery as a luminous theological diagram.

Characters & Entities

• Mokṣa
• Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• Eka-cakra
• Dvādaśa-ātmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred emblems associated with Bhagavān at a tīrtha are portrayed as universally liberating when rightly understood and revered.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvāravatī (Dvārakā), in connection with Cakratīrtha and cakra-marked sacred tokens.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit veneration/recognition of the cakra-marked object; the verse primarily classifies the sacred sign and its mokṣa-giving power.