Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

स्वर्गारोहणनिश्रेणी वहते यत्र गोमती । सा पुरी मोक्षदा नृणां दृष्टा विप्रवरेण हि

Transliteration

svargārohaṇaniśreṇī vahate yatra gomatī | sā purī mokṣadā nṛṇāṃ dṛṣṭā vipravareṇa hi

Translation

ഗോമതി നദി സ്വർഗാരോഹണത്തിനുള്ള പടിക്കെട്ടുപോലെ ഒഴുകുന്നിടത്ത് ഉള്ള ആ നഗരി മനുഷ്യർക്കു മോക്ഷദായിനിയാണ്; അതിനെ ആ വിപ്രവരൻ ദർശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• svarga-ārohaṇa-niśreṇī: the ladder (stairway) for ascending to heaven
• svarga-ārohaṇa-niśreṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + ārohaṇa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + niśreṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (svargasya ārohaṇasya niśreṇī)

• vahate: flows / carries along
• vahate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-अव्यय (relative adverb: 'where')

• gomatī: (the river) Gomati
• gomatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gomatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• sā: that
• sā: Visheshya (Correlative/निर्देशक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• mokṣa-dā: granting liberation
• mokṣa-dā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; दा-धातोः)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (mokṣaṃ dadāti iti)

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• dṛṣṭā: seen
• dṛṣṭā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• vipra-vareṇa: by the best of Brahmins
• vipra-vareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (varaḥ vipraḥ)

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

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Dvārakā-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomātī (Dvārakā)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gomātī flows beside Dvārakā’s ghats like a luminous staircase; a brāhmaṇa pilgrim beholds the city and feels the promise of mokṣa, with temple spires rising beyond the river.

Characters & Entities

• Gomātī
• Dvārakā
• svarga
• mokṣa
• vipra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters and sacred places elevate the seeker; even darśana (holy sight) of such a kṣetra is praised as leading toward mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā and the river Gomātī associated with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pilgrimage and darśana of Dvārakā and Gomātī are recommended; no detailed rite is stated.