Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 186

Devanagari script

कृत्वा वै तीर्थसंन्यासं यतयो विधवाः स्त्रियः । जीवन्मुक्ताः कलौ ज्ञेयाः कुलकोटिसमन्विताः

Transliteration

kṛtvā vai tīrthasaṃnyāsaṃ yatayo vidhavāḥ striyaḥ | jīvanmuktāḥ kalau jñeyāḥ kulakoṭisamanvitāḥ

Translation

Les yatis (ascètes) —et même les femmes veuves—, ayant entrepris le renoncement en lien avec un tīrtha (lieu sacré de pèlerinage), doivent être connus au Kali Yuga comme des jīvanmuktas, libérés de leur vivant, porteurs du mérite d’innombrables lignées.

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): ‘having done’

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (निपात)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• तीर्थसंन्यासम्: tīrtha-renunciation (ritual renunciation)
• तीर्थसंन्यासम्: Karma (Object of कृत्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + संन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tīrtha-saṃnyāsa = ‘renunciation at/connected with a tīrtha’)

• यतयः: ascetics
• यतयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• विधवाः: widows
• विधवाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative plural)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative plural)

• जीवन्मुक्ताः: liberated while living
• जीवन्मुक्ताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective of subjects)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, शतृ) + मुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (jīvan-mukta = ‘liberated while living’)

• कलौ: in the Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-एकवचन (Locative singular)

• ज्ञेयाः: to be known/considered
• ज्ञेयाः: Vidhi/Predicate (To be regarded as)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + यत् (कृत्) → ज्ञेय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; विधेय-भावे (gerundive: ‘to be known/considered’)

• कुलकोटिसमन्विताः: endowed with crores of families (i.e., benefiting many lineages)
• कुलकोटिसमन्विताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subjects)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुल + कोटि + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (kulakoṭi-samanvita = ‘endowed with crores of lineages/families’)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (within Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; attributed to the chapter’s narrator voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual addressee; likely a king/śrāvaka figure)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A renunciant and a widowed woman, both in simple white garments, sit near Dvārakā’s seashore-temple precinct; prayer beads in hand, faces serene; behind them the ocean and a distant śikhara, suggesting Kali-yuga austerity transformed into liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kali Yuga
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere renunciation connected to a sacred place is praised as a powerful path to jīvanmukti even in Kali Yuga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Dvārakā Māhātmya, presenting Dvārakā as a liberating tīrtha-context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertaking tīrtha-saṃnyāsa—renunciant discipline oriented around a holy place.