Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

एकतः क्रतवः सर्वे सर्वतीर्थसमन्विताः । एकतो देवदेवस्य जागरः कृष्णवल्लभः । न समं ह्यधिकः प्रोक्तः कविभिः कृष्णजागरः

Transliteration

ekataḥ kratavaḥ sarve sarvatīrthasamanvitāḥ | ekato devadevasya jāgaraḥ kṛṣṇavallabhaḥ | na samaṃ hyadhikaḥ proktaḥ kavibhiḥ kṛṣṇajāgaraḥ

Translation

D’un côté se tiennent tous les sacrifices avec tous les tīrthas sacrés; de l’autre se tient la veille du Dieu des dieux, bien-aimé de Kṛṣṇa. Les poètes déclarent que la veille de Kṛṣṇa n’est pas seulement égale : elle est supérieure.

Word by Word

• ekataḥ: on one side
• ekataḥ: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘एकस्मिन् पक्षे/एकतः’ (on one side)

• kratavaḥ: sacrifices
• kratavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘क्रतवः’ (sacrifices)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘kratavaḥ’)

• sarva-tīrtha-samanvitāḥ: endowed with all sacred places
• sarva-tīrtha-samanvitāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (समन्वित, कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘सर्वतीर्थैः समन्विताः’ इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘kratavaḥ’)

• ekataḥ: on the other side
• ekataḥ: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ekataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘अन्यस्मिन् पक्षे/एकतः’ (on the other side)

• devadevasya: of the God of gods
• devadevasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — ‘देवानां देवः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• jāgaraḥ: the vigil (jāgara)
• jāgaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘जागरः’ (vigil/wakefulness rite)

• kṛṣṇa-vallabhaḥ: beloved of Krishna
• kṛṣṇa-vallabhaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vallabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘कृष्णस्य वल्लभः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘jāgaraḥ’)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध/particle)

• samam: equal(ly)
• samam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोगः (as adverbial accusative: ‘equally’)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; emphasis)

• adhikaḥ: greater
• adhikaḥ: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम् (predicative: ‘greater/superior’)

• proktaḥ: is declared
• proktaḥ: Kriya (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — कर्मणि/भूतकर्म (said/declared)

• kavibhiḥ: by poets
• kavibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kavi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — करणम्/कर्तृ-निर्देशः (by poets)

• kṛṣṇa-jāgaraḥ: Krishna-vigil
• kṛṣṇa-jāgaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘कृष्णस्य जागरः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

An unnamed Purāṇic narrator within Dvārakā Māhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛṣṇa-jāgara (Kṛṣṇa-vallabha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (bhūpāla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic balance: on one side, heaps of sacrificial implements and maps of tīrthas; on the other, a single night vigil before the deity—yet the vigil side outweighs all.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Tīrtha
• Kratu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti expressed as Kṛṣṇa-jāgaraṇa is exalted above cumulative ritual and pilgrimage merits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, implicitly as the celebrated setting for Kṛṣṇa’s beloved vigil.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertake Kṛṣṇa-jāgaraṇa as a foremost devotional vow, praised as superior to sacrifices and tīrtha-merit.