Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54
युधिष्ठिर उवाच । यमद्वारे महाघोरे या सा वैतरणी नदी । किंरूपा किंप्रमाणा सा कथं सा वहति द्विज
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | yamadvāre mahāghore yā sā vaitaraṇī nadī | kiṃrūpā kiṃpramāṇā sā kathaṃ sā vahati dvija
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Di pintu gerbang Yama yang menggerunkan, sungai bernama Vaitaraṇī itu—bagaimanakah rupanya, berapakah ukurannya, dan bagaimana ia mengalir, wahai brāhmaṇa?”
Yudhiṣṭhira
Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī (otherworldly river)
Type: river
Listener: null
Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, solemn, questions a brāhmaṇa sage; behind them a visionary tableau: a dark gate marked ‘Yama-dvāra’ and a terrifying river Vaitaraṇī with turbulent currents, hinting at its measure and flow.
FAQs
A dhārmic seeker asks precise questions about the consequences of karma and the realities described in Purāṇic cosmology.
This verse shifts from tīrtha-merit to the afterlife setting (Yamadvāra); the tīrtha context continues from the surrounding passage.
None directly; it is an inquiry initiating the detailed description of Vaitaraṇī.