Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 151
स्वर्गद्वारं विहायैव क्षत्रियाणां मनस्विनाम् । पलायध्वे किमर्थं वा संग्रामाङ्गणमुत्तमम्
svargadvāraṃ vihāyaiva kṣatriyāṇāṃ manasvinām | palāyadhve kimarthaṃ vā saṃgrāmāṅgaṇamuttamam
ละทิ้ง ‘ประตูสวรรค์’ อันเป็นของกษัตริย์นักรบผู้กล้าหาญ แล้วเหตุใดพวกเจ้าจึงหนีจากสนามรบอันประเสริฐนี้เล่า
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.