Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

द्वादशात्मा स विज्ञेयो मोक्षदः सर्वदेहिनाम् । एकचक्रांकितो यस्तु द्वारवत्यां सुशोभनः

Transliteration

dvādaśātmā sa vijñeyo mokṣadaḥ sarvadehinām | ekacakrāṃkito yastu dvāravatyāṃ suśobhanaḥ

Translation

അവൻ ദ്വാദശ-സ്വരൂപനെന്നു അറിയപ്പെടണം; സകല ദേഹധാരികൾക്കും മോക്ഷദാതാവ്. ഏകചക്രചിഹ്നിതനായവൻ ദ്വാരവതിയിൽ അത്യന്തം ശോഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• dvādaśātmā: one of twelvefold nature
• dvādaśātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa + ātman (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (dvādaśa-ātmā: having twelve forms/aspects)

• saḥ: he/that one
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vijñeyaḥ: to be known/recognized
• vijñeyaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + jñā (धातु) + ya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्तव्यतार्थक कृदन्तः (gerundive/भाव्य), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; ‘सः’ इत्यस्य विधेय-विशेषणम् (to be known)

• mokṣadaḥ: giver of liberation
• mokṣadaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa + da (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mokṣasya dātā: giver of liberation)

• sarvadehinām: of all embodied beings
• sarvadehinām: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + dehin (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (sarve dehinaḥ: all embodied beings)

• ekacakrāṃkitaḥ: marked with a single discus
• ekacakrāṃkitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka + cakra + aṅkita (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ekena cakreṇa aṅkitaḥ: marked with one discus)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun: who)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• dvāravatyām: in Dvāravatī (Dwaraka)
• dvāravatyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāravatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचनम्

• suśobhanaḥ: very splendid/beautiful
• suśobhanaḥ: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + śobhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सु-शोभनः: very beautiful)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvāravatī/Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Viṣṇu-presence in Dvāravatī, emphasized through a single Sudarśana-cakra mark; the city’s sea-facing sanctity frames the ‘twelve-formed’ mystery as a luminous theological diagram.

Characters & Entities

• Mokṣa
• Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• Eka-cakra
• Dvādaśa-ātmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred emblems associated with Bhagavān at a tīrtha are portrayed as universally liberating when rightly understood and revered.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvāravatī (Dvārakā), in connection with Cakratīrtha and cakra-marked sacred tokens.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit veneration/recognition of the cakra-marked object; the verse primarily classifies the sacred sign and its mokṣa-giving power.