Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

कृतमायतनं दद्यात्क्रमाच्छतगुणं फलम् । कलशं तत्र चारोप्य एकविंशत्कुलैर्युतः

Transliteration

kṛtamāyatanaṃ dadyātkramācchataguṇaṃ phalam | kalaśaṃ tatra cāropya ekaviṃśatkulairyutaḥ

Translation

إنْ تَصَدَّقَ المرءُ بآيَتَنا (معبدٍ مقدّس) مُنجَزٍ، تضاعف الثمرةُ على الترتيب إلى مئةِ ضعف. وإذا وُضِعَ عليه الكَلَشَة (إناءُ التكريس)، اتّصلَ ونالَ النفعَ مع إحدى وعشرين سلالة.

Word by Word

• कृतम्: made/built
• कृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)-क्त, कृदन्त ‘कृत’
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘made/built’ (qualifying ‘आयतनम्’)

• आयतनम्: a shrine/abode
• आयतनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दद्यात्: should give/donate
• दद्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• क्रमात्: gradually/in order
• क्रमात्: Sambandha (Adverbial Ablative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘in due order/gradually’

• शतगुणम्: hundredfold
• शतगुणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘hundredfold’ (qualifying ‘फलम्’)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कलशम्: a pot/vessel
• कलशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/conjunction)

• आरोप्य: having placed
• आरोप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + रुह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/absolutive), अव्ययभाव; ‘having placed/raised’

• एकविंशत्: twenty-one
• एकविंशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द; ‘twenty-one’ (qualifying ‘कुलैः’)

• कुलैः: with families/lineages
• कुलैः: Sahakarana/Association (Instrumental/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• युतः: endowed/associated
• युतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युज् (धातु)-क्त, कृदन्त ‘युत’
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘endowed/connected’ (predicate adjective of implied agent)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahāsena (Skanda)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor offers a newly completed stone shrine to Śiva; artisans place a shining golden kalaśa atop the śikhara; a subtle aura links the donor to a chain of 21 ancestors/descendants.

Characters & Entities

• Āyatana (shrine)
• Kalaśa
• Kula (lineage)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Building and gifting sacred infrastructure for Śiva is praised as a massively amplifying act of dharma with wide-reaching familial merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is specified; the teaching applies broadly to Śaiva temple-building and consecration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna of a completed āyatana (shrine) and placing a kalaśa (consecration pot) upon it.