Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एको दानानि सर्वाणि ब्राह्मणेभ्यः प्रयच्छति । एको विष्णुपदीतोये स्नाति द्वाभ्यां समं हि तत्

Transliteration

eko dānāni sarvāṇi brāhmaṇebhyaḥ prayacchati | eko viṣṇupadītoye snāti dvābhyāṃ samaṃ hi tat

Translation

إن قدّم المرءُ جميعَ أنواعِ الصدقاتِ للبراهمة، فذلك مجموعٌ عظيم؛ غير أنّ من اغتسلَ مرةً واحدةً في مياهِ فيشنوبدي (Viṣṇupadī) ينال نتيجةً مساويةً لذلك.

Word by Word

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• dānāni: gifts, donations
• dānāni: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• sarvāṇi: all
• sarvāṇi: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifying dānāni)

• brāhmaṇebhyaḥ: to the Brahmins
• brāhmaṇebhyaḥ: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• prayacchati: gives, bestows
• prayacchati: Kriyā (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yam (यम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• viṣṇupadītoye: in the water of Viṣṇupadī (Gaṅgā)
• viṣṇupadītoye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇupadī-toya (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णुपदी + तोय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• snāti: bathes
• snāti: Kriyā (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• dvābhyām: with two (persons/acts)
• dvābhyām: Sahakāraka/Instrument (करण/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विवचन-प्रातिपदिक; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन (Dual)

• samam: equal(ly)
• samam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbially: ‘equally’)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• tat: that (result/act)
• tat: Karma/Predicate (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim offers folded-hands salutation, then bathes in a luminous tīrtha whose waters shimmer with Viṣṇu’s footprint-sign; nearby Brāhmaṇas receive dāna, indicating the verse’s equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇupadī
• dāna
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred bathing at an exalted tīrtha is portrayed as an efficient path to merit comparable to vast charitable giving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Viṣṇupadī-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna in Viṣṇupadī’s water; dāna to Brāhmaṇas is referenced as a benchmark of merit.