Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

सूर्यग्रहे गवां कोटिं दत्त्वा यत्फलमाप्नुयात् । तत्फलं कलिकाले तु द्वारवत्यां दिनेदिने

Transliteration

sūryagrahe gavāṃ koṭiṃ dattvā yatphalamāpnuyāt | tatphalaṃ kalikāle tu dvāravatyāṃ dinedine

Translation

أيُّ ثوابٍ يُنالُ بالتصدّقِ بكرورٍ من الأبقار عند كسوفِ الشمس، فإنَّ مثلَ ذلك الثمر يُنالُ في عصرِ كالي يومًا بعد يومٍ في دُوَارَفَتِي (دُوَارَكَا).

Word by Word

• सूर्यग्रहे: at a solar eclipse
• सूर्यग्रहे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: सूर्यस्य ग्रहः)

• गवाम्: of cows
• गवाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कोटिम्: a crore (ten million)
• कोटिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya (Adverbial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having given)

• यत्: which/whatever
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative)

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

• आप्नुयात्: would obtain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; correlative ‘that’

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Result/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कलिकाले: in the Kali age
• कलिकाले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलिकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (काल-अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कर्मधारय: कलिः एव कालः)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• द्वारवत्याम्: in Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• द्वारवत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारवती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• दिने: day
• दिने: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (in compound)

• दिने: day after day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समासः: दिने-दिने = ‘day by day’ (repetition)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Māhātmya-style narration within Skanda Purāṇa; Dvārakā Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solar eclipse darkens the sky in one panel where a king donates countless cows; in the main panel, Dvārakā’s temple and sea shine, with ordinary devotees offering small gifts daily—showing equivalence of fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• Sūrya-graha (solar eclipse)
• Gau-dāna (cow donation)
• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kali-yuga, the tīrtha-mahātmyas magnify accessible devotion: the sanctity of Dvārakā grants extraordinary merit without requiring rare, difficult occasions like eclipses.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvāravatī—Dvārakā, praised as a supremely merit-giving sacred place in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gau-dāna (donation of cows), specifically the famed merit of gifting a crore of cows at a solar eclipse, is used as the benchmark for the daily merit obtainable in Dvārakā.