Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

किं मोक्षसाधनैः क्लेशैर्ध्यानयोगसमाधिभिः । द्वारकेश्वरकृष्णस्य दर्शनं यस्य जायते

Transliteration

kiṃ mokṣasādhanaiḥ kleśairdhyānayogasamādhibhiḥ | dvārakeśvarakṛṣṇasya darśanaṃ yasya jāyate

Translation

What need is there of painful disciplines claimed to be means to liberation—meditation, yogic practice, and samādhi—for the one to whom the vision of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Dvārakā, arises?

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use/need?)
• किम्: Sambandha (Discourse/प्रश्न-प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• मोक्षसाधनैः: by means of liberation-practices
• मोक्षसाधनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + साधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; मोक्षस्य साधनानि (instrumental plural)

• क्लेशैः: by hardships
• क्लेशैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• ध्यानयोगसमाधिभिः: by meditation, yoga, and samādhi
• ध्यानयोगसमाधिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक) + समाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (meditation, yoga, and samādhi)

• द्वारकेश्वरकृष्णस्य: of Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Dvārakā
• द्वारकेश्वरकृष्णस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; द्वारकायाः ईश्वरः कृष्णः तस्य (genitive singular)

• दर्शनम्: the sight/vision
• दर्शनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• यस्य: for whom/whose
• यस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (relative pronoun)

• जायते: arises/occurs
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (present, 3rd sg, middle)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic struggling in severe yogic posture amid austerities fades into the background as a devotee receives serene darśana of Dvārakeśa-Kṛṣṇa in a temple by the sea; the deity’s gaze bestows peace, symbolizing effortless liberation through grace.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakeśvara Kṛṣṇa
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kṛṣṇa-darśana at Dvārakā is presented as a direct, grace-filled path that surpasses arduous yogic and ascetic methods.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, through the epithet “Dvārakeśvara,” highlighting Kṛṣṇa as the presiding Lord of the place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed; meditation, yoga, and samādhi are referenced as practices rendered secondary by divine darśana.