Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 151
स्वर्गद्वारं विहायैव क्षत्रियाणां मनस्विनाम् । पलायध्वे किमर्थं वा संग्रामाङ्गणमुत्तमम्
svargadvāraṃ vihāyaiva kṣatriyāṇāṃ manasvinām | palāyadhve kimarthaṃ vā saṃgrāmāṅgaṇamuttamam
Dengan meninggalkan ‘pintu syurga’ itu sendiri bagi para Kṣatriya yang berjiwa gagah, mengapa kamu melarikan diri dari medan perang yang mulia?
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced); verse preserves a battlefield exhortation embedded in the Kedāra narrative
Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A commander’s sharp challenge: warriors poised at the edge of retreat are confronted—behind them the open path of flight, before them the shining ‘excellent battlefield’ like a threshold; the phrase ‘svargadvāra’ is visualized as a radiant arch over the field.
FAQs
For a Kṣatriya, righteous courage and steadfastness in a just battle are praised as a dharmic path, not something to be abandoned out of fear.
The verse sits within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Kedāra sacred geography, but the immediate topic is kṣātra-dharma rather than a named tīrtha.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; it is an ethical exhortation about conduct in battle.