Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

द्वारकाचक्रतीर्थे ये निवसंति नरोत्तमाः । तेषां निवारिताः सर्वे यमेन यमकिंकराः

Transliteration

dvārakācakratīrthe ye nivasaṃti narottamāḥ | teṣāṃ nivāritāḥ sarve yamena yamakiṃkarāḥ

Translation

ദ്വാരകയിലെ ചക്രതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ വസിക്കുന്ന നരോത്തമരുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ യമന്റെ എല്ലാ കിങ്കരന്മാരെയും യമൻ തന്നേ തടയുന്നു।

Word by Word

• द्वारकाचक्रतीर्थे: at the Dvārakā Cakra-tīrtha
• द्वारकाचक्रतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका-चक्र-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; द्वारका + चक्र + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; समासः तत्पुरुषः (द्वारकायाः चक्रतीर्थम्)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• निवसन्ति: dwell
• निवसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present Indicative, 3rd Person, Plural

• नरोत्तमाः: best of men
• नरोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; नर + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; समासः कर्मधारयः (उत्तमाः नराः)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Genitive (6th), Plural

• निवारिताः: restrained, prevented
• निवारिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-√वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (restrained/checked); विशेषणम् (यमकिंकराः)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; विशेषणम् (यमकिंकराः)

• यमेन: by Yama
• यमेन: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Singular

• यमकिंकराः: servants of Yama
• यमकिंकराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम-किंकर (प्रातिपदिक; यम + किंकर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य किंकराः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narration style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cakratīrtha (Dvārakā)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Cakratīrtha’s waters, devotees reside peacefully while shadowy Yamakiṅkaras stand halted at a boundary, and Yama himself gestures restraint, indicating the tīrtha’s protective sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakā
• Cakratīrtha
• Yama
• Yamakiṅkaras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Residence in a highly sanctified tīrtha grants divine protection, even from the agents of death and retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Cakratīrtha at Dvārakā is praised as a protective and merit-giving sacred ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights nivāsa (dwelling) at the tīrtha as the key observance.