Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

यथा लक्ष्मीः प्रिया विष्णोस्तुलसी च ततोऽधिका । द्वारकायां समुत्पन्ना विशेषेण फलाधिका

Transliteration

yathā lakṣmīḥ priyā viṣṇostulasī ca tato'dhikā | dvārakāyāṃ samutpannā viśeṣeṇa phalādhikā

Translation

ดังที่พระลักษมีเป็นที่รักของพระวิษณุ ฉันใด ทุลสีก็เป็นที่รักยิ่งกว่านั้น ฉันนั้น และทุลสีที่บังเกิดในทวารกา ยิ่งให้ผลบุญสูงส่งเป็นพิเศษ

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुलना-वाचक (comparative particle: “as/just as”)

• लक्ष्मीः: Lakṣmī
• लक्ष्मीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रिया: dear/beloved
• प्रिया: Karta-predicative (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with लक्ष्मीः)

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: Sambandha (Genitive/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• तुलसी: Tulasī (holy basil)
• तुलसी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• ततः: than that/from that
• ततः: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/तुलना-सूचक (from that/than that)

• अधिका: greater/superior
• अधिका: Karta-predicative (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with तुलसी)

• द्वारकायाम्: in Dvārakā
• द्वारकायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• समुत्पन्ना: arisen/produced
• समुत्पन्ना: Karta-predicative (Descriptive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ut-pad (धातु) + samutpanna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with तुलसी)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचन-रूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (instrumental used adverbially: “especially”)

• फलाधिका: more fruitful; having greater result
• फलाधिका: Karta-predicative (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (फलात् अधिका/फलस्य अधिका); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with तुलसी)

Speaker

Unspecified (Dvārakā Māhātmya narrator addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: Viṣṇu with Lakṣmī on one side, and a radiant tulasī plant/garland on the other, indicating tulasī’s exceptional dearness; behind them, Dvārakā’s golden city by the sea, suggesting tulasī ‘arisen’ there.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Lakṣmī
• Tulasī
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Offerings connected to what is most beloved to the deity—tulasī for Viṣṇu—magnify devotion and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is explicitly praised as giving special potency to tulasī associated with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly recommends worship of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa with tulasī, especially tulasī from Dvārakā.