Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

तदष्टादशसाहस्रं ब्रह्मवैवर्तमुच्यते । पुराणं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं यो दद्याद्ब्राह्मणोत्तमे । माघमासे पौर्णमास्यां ब्रह्मलोके महीयते

Transliteration

tadaṣṭādaśasāhasraṃ brahmavaivartamucyate | purāṇaṃ brahmavaivartaṃ yo dadyādbrāhmaṇottame | māghamāse paurṇamāsyāṃ brahmaloke mahīyate

Translation

ذلك النصّ المؤلَّف من ثمانيةَ عشرَ ألفًا (بيت) يُسمّى «برهما-فَيْفَرْتا». ومَن قدّم «بورانا برهما-فَيْفَرْتا» إلى براهمنٍ فاضل في يوم البدر من شهر «ماغها» يُكرَّم في عالم براهما (برهما-لوكا).

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally = “that”

• aṣṭādaśa-sāhasram: eighteen-thousand (in extent)
• aṣṭādaśa-sāhasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; dvigu-compound = “eighteen-thousand (verses/units)”

• brahma-vaivartam: (called) Brahmavaivarta
• brahma-vaivartam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + vaivarta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; tatpuruṣa = “Brahma-vaivarta (name/title)”

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive) = “is said/called”

• purāṇam: Purāṇa
• purāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• brahma-vaivartam: Brahmavaivarta (named)
• brahma-vaivartam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + vaivarta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; used adjectivally qualifying purāṇam

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; relative pronoun = “who(ever)”

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद = “should give”

• brāhmaṇa-uttame: to/among the best brāhmaṇa
• brāhmaṇa-uttame: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; tatpuruṣa = “in/among the best brāhmaṇa(s)” (locative of recipient-context)

• māgha-māse: in the month of Māgha
• māgha-māse: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; tatpuruṣa = “in the month of Māgha”

• paurṇamāsyām: on the full-moon day
• paurṇamāsyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; “on the full-moon day”

• brahma-loke: in Brahmaloka
• brahma-loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; “in Brahma-loka”

• mahīyate: is honored
• mahīyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mah (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग = “is honored/glorified”

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor presents a richly wrapped Purāṇa volume to an eminent brāhmaṇa on a bright Māgha full-moon day; a temple library shelf and ritual lamps indicate śāstra as sacred offering.

Characters & Entities

• Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa
• Māgha
• Paurṇamāsī
• Brahmaloka
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Giving sacred knowledge (Purāṇa-dāna) is a high dharma that elevates the giver to exalted realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is the contextual sacred geography where such month-based observances and gifts are praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Donate the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa to a worthy brāhmaṇa on Māgha full moon (Paurṇamāsī).