Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

रामचंद्रधनुष्कोटिदर्शनं लभ्यते यदि । काश्यां तु मरणान्मुक्तिः प्रार्थ्यते किं वृथा नरैः

Transliteration

rāmacaṃdradhanuṣkoṭidarśanaṃ labhyate yadi | kāśyāṃ tu maraṇānmuktiḥ prārthyate kiṃ vṛthā naraiḥ

Translation

หากได้ประจักษ์ธนุษโกฏิของพระรามจันทราแล้ว ไฉนมนุษย์จึงยังวิงวอนโมกษะด้วยการตายในกาศีอย่างเปล่าประโยชน์

Word by Word

• rāma-caṃdra-dhanuṣkoṭi-darśanam: the sight of Rāmacandra’s Dhanuṣkoṭi
• rāma-caṃdra-dhanuṣkoṭi-darśanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhanuṣkoṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक; √dṛś (धातु) दर्शने)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• labhyate: is obtained
• labhyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (धातु) लाभे
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि (passive)

• yadi: if
• yadi: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional)

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात—विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• maraṇāt: from death / by dying
• maraṇāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन

• muktiḥ: liberation
• muktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prārthyate: is sought/prayed for
• prārthyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√arth (धातु) याचने/प्रार्थने
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि (passive)

• kim: why/what (for)
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• vṛthā: in vain
• vṛthā: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vṛthā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• naraiḥ: by men
• naraiḥ: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; कर्तृवाचक-तृतीया (agent in passive)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Setukhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dhanuṣkoṭi (Rāmacandra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: on one side, Dhanuṣkoṭi’s luminous seashore with pilgrims beholding the sacred point; on the other, Kāśī’s ghāṭas with funeral fires—yet the Dhanuṣkoṭi side radiates a stronger mokṣa-light, suggesting liberation through darśana rather than death.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmacandra
• Dhanuṣkoṭi
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic tradition can exalt multiple mokṣa-giving sites; here Dhanuṣkoṭi is celebrated as so powerful that even famed Kāśī-mukti is rhetorically surpassed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhanuṣkoṭi associated with Rāmacandra, within the Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (pilgrimage sight) is emphasized; no additional rite is mandated in this verse.