Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

श्रुताभिलिखिता दृष्टा ह्ययोध्या मथुरापुरी । पापं हरति कल्पोत्थं द्वारका च तृतीयका

Transliteration

śrutābhilikhitā dṛṣṭā hyayodhyā mathurāpurī | pāpaṃ harati kalpotthaṃ dvārakā ca tṛtīyakā

Translation

അയോധ്യയും മഥുരാപുരിയും—കേട്ടാലും എഴുതിയാലും കണ്ടാലും—കൽപോത്ഭവമായ പാപം ഹരിക്കുന്നു; അവയ്ക്കു തുല്യമായ മൂന്നാമത്തെ പുണ്യപുരി ദ്വാരകയാണ്.

Word by Word

• श्रुता-अभिलिखिता: heard and written down
• श्रुता-अभिलिखिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रु (धातु) → श्रुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + अभि-लिख् (धातु) → लिखित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (श्रुता च अभिलिखिता च)

• दृष्टा: seen
• दृष्टा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeed/for)

• अयोध्या: Ayodhyā
• अयोध्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मथुरा-पुरī: the city of Mathurā
• मथुरा-पुरī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (मथुरा एव पुरी)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हरति: removes
• हरति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• कल्प-उत्थम्: arisen from (a) kalpa
• कल्प-उत्थम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पञ्चमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः (कल्पात्/कल्पस्य उत्थम् = arising from an aeon)

• द्वारका: Dvārakā
• द्वारका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• तृतीयका: the third (one)
• तृतीयका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीयक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (द्वारका इति विशेष्यस्य)

Speaker

Unknown (within Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā–Mathurā–Dvārakā (kṣetra-traya)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A triptych: Ayodhyā’s Sarayū ghāṭs and Rāma-temple silhouette; Mathurā’s Yamunā ghāṭs with Kṛṣṇa-līlā motifs; Dvārakā’s sea-city. A scribe writes the māhātmya while a reciter reads to devotees.

Characters & Entities

• Ayodhyā
• Mathurā
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with sacred places can purify at multiple levels—mental (hearing), textual (recording), and physical (seeing).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā and Mathurā are explicitly praised, with Dvārakā named as the third in the celebrated triad.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (hearing), abhilikhana (writing/recording), and darśana (seeing) are presented as spiritually purifying practices.