Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

यदुपुर्य्यां ततो दृष्ट्वा उद्यानविपिनावलीः । अद्य देवं प्रपश्यामः कृष्णाख्यं नंदनंदनम्

Transliteration

yadupuryyāṃ tato dṛṣṭvā udyānavipināvalīḥ | adya devaṃ prapaśyāmaḥ kṛṣṇākhyaṃ naṃdanaṃdanam

Translation

பின்னர் யது நகரில் தோட்டங்களும் கானகங்களும் வரிசையாக இருப்பதைக் கண்டு அவர்கள் கூறினர்— “இன்று நாம் தேவனை— நந்தனந்தனன் எனும் கிருஷ்ணனை— தரிசிப்போம்।”

Word by Word

• यदुपुर्याम्: in the city of the Yadus (Dvārakā)
• यदुपुर्याम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदु + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यदूनां पुरी)

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Desha-kala (Temporal/locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर/तस्मात् (then/from there)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• उद्यानविपिनावलीः: rows/series of gardens and groves
• उद्यानविपिनावलीः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्यान + विपिन + आवली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (उद्यानानि च विपिनानि च—तयोः आवलीः)

• अद्य: today, now
• अद्य: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (today/now)

• देवम्: the Lord, the god
• देवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• प्रपश्यामः: we see, we behold
• प्रपश्यामः: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), बहुवचन

• कृष्णाख्यम्: named Krishna
• कृष्णाख्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे/तत्पुरुषः—‘कृष्ण’ इति आख्या यस्य (named Krishna)

• नन्दनन्दनम्: Nanda's son
• नन्दनन्दनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्द + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नन्दस्य नन्दनः)

Speaker

Vraja-aṅganāḥ (implied collective voice of the gopīs within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yādavapurī/Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The gopīs pause at the sight of Dvārakā’s garden-lined avenues; in the distance, palaces and temple spires shimmer, as they speak of seeing Nanda’s son.

Characters & Entities

• Yadu-purī (Dvārakā)
• Kṛṣṇa
• Nanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage culminates in darśana—seeing the Lord with longing—where the sacred place becomes a gateway to direct devotional encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Yadu-purī, i.e., Dvārakā, praised through its auspicious gardens and groves as part of its māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the act emphasized is darśana (beholding the deity) as the goal of the visit.