Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

इद्रियाणां तु दमनं किं करिष्यति देहिनाम् । सांख्यमध्ययनं चापि द्वारकां गच्छते न चेत्

Transliteration

idriyāṇāṃ tu damanaṃ kiṃ kariṣyati dehinām | sāṃkhyamadhyayanaṃ cāpi dvārakāṃ gacchate na cet

Translation

ദ്വാരകയിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നില്ലെങ്കിൽ, ഇന്ദ്രിയനിയന്ത്രണം കൊണ്ടോ സാംഖ്യശാസ്ത്ര പഠനം കൊണ്ടോ മനുഷ്യന് എന്ത് പ്രയോജനമാണുള്ളത്?

Word by Word

• इन्द्रियाणाम्: of the senses
• इन्द्रियाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधसूचक (particle)

• दमनम्: restraint
• दमनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• करिष्यति: will do/accomplish
• करिष्यति: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• देहिनाम्: of embodied beings
• देहिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• सांख्यमध्ययनम्: study of Sāṃkhya
• सांख्यमध्ययनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांख्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अध्ययन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समास: सांख्यस्य अध्ययनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Samuccaya/Avadharana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थ (also/even)

• द्वारकाम्: Dvārakā
• द्वारकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• गच्छते: goes
• गच्छते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

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

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Hetu/Condition marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional particle: if)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (Dvāravatī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic scene where a sage addresses a king, gesturing toward the western sea and the golden city of Dvārakā, contrasting austere yogic restraint and Sāṃkhya study with the luminous pull of Kṛṣṇa’s sacred city.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakā
• Sāṃkhya
• Sense-restraint (indriya-damana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse asserts the supremacy of Dvārakā-bhakti and tīrtha-yātrā, suggesting that dry discipline or philosophy is incomplete without sacred orientation to the Lord’s abode.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is explicitly upheld as indispensable for spiritual fruition in this Māhātmya passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-yātrā to Dvārakā is implicitly prescribed as a decisive practice, beyond mere ascetic restraint or philosophical study.