Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 174

Devanagari script

या नारी विधवा भूत्वा कुरुते द्वारकाश्रयम् । कुलायुतसहस्रं तु नयते परमं पदम्

Transliteration

yā nārī vidhavā bhūtvā kurute dvārakāśrayam | kulāyutasahasraṃ tu nayate paramaṃ padam

Translation

凡女子既为寡居而归依都瓦拉卡（Dvārakā）者，能引领其族类千乘万倍、不可胜数之众，至于至上境界。

Word by Word

• yā: who (she)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

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

• vidhavā: widowed
• vidhavā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhavā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of nārī)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having become)

• kurute: does; undertakes
• kurute: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• dvārakāśrayam: refuge in Dvārakā
• dvārakāśrayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvārakā (प्रातिपदिक) + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dvārakāyāḥ āśrayaḥ)

• kulāyutasahasram: ten-thousand-thousands of families (i.e., countless lineages)
• kulāyutasahasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक) + ayuta (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास (determinative numeric compound; ‘thousand of ten-thousands of families’)

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); अवधान/विरोधार्थक

• nayate: leads; takes
• nayate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (of padam)

• padam: state; abode
• padam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Traditional Māhātmya narrator (contextual; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A widow, simply dressed, arrives at Dvārakā’s sacred precinct and bows at the temple threshold; behind her, a faint ancestral procession is symbolically shown ascending toward light, indicating kula-uddhāra.

Characters & Entities

• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Taking refuge in Dwārakā is portrayed as immensely salvific, benefitting not only oneself but one’s whole lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dwārakā is praised as a refuge that grants the supreme abode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act prescribed is āśraya—settling in or taking shelter of Dwārakā as a sacred refuge.