Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

आलोड्य सर्वशास्त्राणि पुराणानि पुनःपुनः । मया दृष्टा महीपाल न द्वारकासमा पुरी

Transliteration

āloḍya sarvaśāstrāṇi purāṇāni punaḥpunaḥ | mayā dṛṣṭā mahīpāla na dvārakāsamā purī

Translation

Après avoir longuement scruté tous les śāstras et les Purāṇa, encore et encore, ô souverain de la terre, j’ai vu qu’aucune cité n’égale Dvārakā.

Word by Word

• आलोड्य: having churned/consulted thoroughly
• आलोड्य: Kriya (पूर्वकर्म/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√लुड् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातु: आ√लुड्

• सर्वशास्त्राणि: all treatises
• सर्वशास्त्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + शास्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; समास: सर्वाणि शास्त्राणि

• पुराणानि: the Purāṇas
• पुराणानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb); पुनरुक्ति द्वारा आवृत्तिः

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• दृष्टा: seen/found
• दृष्टा: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; (पुर्या सह विशेषणभाव)

• महीपाल: O king
• महीपाल: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

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

• द्वारकासमा: equal to Dvārakā
• द्वारकासमा: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समास: द्वारकायाः समा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• पुरी: city
• पुरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya context; addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahi-pāla/bhūpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-scholar sits with palm-leaf manuscripts and Purāṇic scrolls, as if ‘churning’ them; behind him rises a radiant vision of Dvārakā’s golden city by the sea, surpassing other faintly sketched sacred cities.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakā
• Śāstras
• Purāṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Scriptural consensus is invoked to affirm Dvārakā’s unparalleled sanctity, inspiring faith in tīrtha-yātrā and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is explicitly declared unequaled among cities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the verse functions as a scriptural endorsement of Dvārakā’s preeminence for pilgrimage and worship.