Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 186

Devanagari script

कृत्वा वै तीर्थसंन्यासं यतयो विधवाः स्त्रियः । जीवन्मुक्ताः कलौ ज्ञेयाः कुलकोटिसमन्विताः

Transliteration

kṛtvā vai tīrthasaṃnyāsaṃ yatayo vidhavāḥ striyaḥ | jīvanmuktāḥ kalau jñeyāḥ kulakoṭisamanvitāḥ

Translation

Os yatis (ascetas) —e até mesmo as mulheres viúvas—, tendo assumido a renúncia ligada a um tīrtha (lugar sagrado de peregrinação), devem ser conhecidos no Kali Yuga como jīvanmuktas, libertos em vida, acompanhados do mérito de incontáveis linhagens.

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (कृत्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): ‘having done’

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (निपात)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• तीर्थसंन्यासम्: tīrtha-renunciation (ritual renunciation)
• तीर्थसंन्यासम्: Karma (Object of कृत्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + संन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tīrtha-saṃnyāsa = ‘renunciation at/connected with a tīrtha’)

• यतयः: ascetics
• यतयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative plural)

• विधवाः: widows
• विधवाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative plural)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative plural)

• जीवन्मुक्ताः: liberated while living
• जीवन्मुक्ताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective of subjects)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, शतृ) + मुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (jīvan-mukta = ‘liberated while living’)

• कलौ: in the Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-एकवचन (Locative singular)

• ज्ञेयाः: to be known/considered
• ज्ञेयाः: Vidhi/Predicate (To be regarded as)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + यत् (कृत्) → ज्ञेय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; विधेय-भावे (gerundive: ‘to be known/considered’)

• कुलकोटिसमन्विताः: endowed with crores of families (i.e., benefiting many lineages)
• कुलकोटिसमन्विताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subjects)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुल + कोटि + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (kulakoṭi-samanvita = ‘endowed with crores of lineages/families’)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (within Dvārakā Māhātmya narration; attributed to the chapter’s narrator voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual addressee; likely a king/śrāvaka figure)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A renunciant and a widowed woman, both in simple white garments, sit near Dvārakā’s seashore-temple precinct; prayer beads in hand, faces serene; behind them the ocean and a distant śikhara, suggesting Kali-yuga austerity transformed into liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kali Yuga
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere renunciation connected to a sacred place is praised as a powerful path to jīvanmukti even in Kali Yuga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Dvārakā Māhātmya, presenting Dvārakā as a liberating tīrtha-context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertaking tīrtha-saṃnyāsa—renunciant discipline oriented around a holy place.