Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

पशवस्ते न सन्देहो गर्दभेन समा जनाः । दृष्टं कृष्णमुखं यैर्न गत्वा द्वारवतीं पुरीम्

Transliteration

paśavaste na sandeho gardabhena samā janāḥ | dṛṣṭaṃ kṛṣṇamukhaṃ yairna gatvā dvāravatīṃ purīm

Translation

Without doubt they are beasts—people no better than donkeys—who, having beheld the face of Kṛṣṇa, still do not go to the city of Dwāravatī (Dwārakā).

Word by Word

• पशवः: beasts
• पशवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• ते: those (people)
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• न: no/not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• सन्देहः: doubt
• सन्देहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• गर्दभेन: with a donkey
• गर्दभेन: Upamana (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्दभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• समाः: equal/like
• समाः: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; (जनाः इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; (कृष्णमुखम् इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• कृष्णमुखम्: Kṛṣṇa’s face
• कृष्णमुखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समास: कृष्णं मुखं यस्य/कृष्णं मुखम् (कर्मधारय)

• यैः: by whom
• यैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; (कर्तृवाचक: ‘by whom’)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातु: √गम्

• द्वारवतीम्: Dvāravatī
• द्वारवतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारवती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• पुरीम्: city
• पुरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative style and Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā / Dvāravatī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic admonition: a sage points toward Dvārakā while figures who have seen Kṛṣṇa’s radiant face turn away; the contrast shows luminous devotion versus dull obstinacy, with donkey imagery as a symbolic backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Dwāravatī (Dwārakā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mere sight or admiration of Kṛṣṇa is incomplete without active devotion expressed through sacred pilgrimage and honoring His abode; neglecting Dwārakā is condemned as spiritual dullness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dwāravatī (Dwārakā), the sacred city associated with Lord Kṛṣṇa, praised in the Dvārakā Māhātmya of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this verse; the implied prescription is tīrtha-yātrā—going to Dwārakā as an act of devotion and dharma.