Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

चातुर्विध्यं तु सर्वेषां दानं दास्याम गृह्णत । एवमुक्त्वा तु सर्वेषां विप्राणां दानमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

cāturvidhyaṃ tu sarveṣāṃ dānaṃ dāsyāma gṛhṇata | evamuktvā tu sarveṣāṃ viprāṇāṃ dānamuttamam

Translation

„Wir werden euch allen eine vierfache Gabe schenken—nehmt sie an.“ So sprechend bereiteten sie für alle Brāhmaṇas die höchste Tat der Wohltätigkeit.

Word by Word

• चातुर्विध्यम्: fourfold (set)
• चातुर्विध्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्विध्य (प्रातिपदिक; चतुर् + विध्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; 'चार प्रकारों का (समूह)'

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/समुच्चयार्थ-अव्यय; 'but/indeed'

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; 'of all'

• दानम्: gift/donation
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• दास्याम: I will give
• दास्याम: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; 'I shall give' (पाठानुसार रूप)

• गृह्णत: accept (you all)
• गृह्णत: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; 'take/accept (you all)'

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय; 'thus'

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययभाव) कृदन्त; 'having said'

• तु: indeed/then
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; 'then/indeed'

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• विप्राणाम्: of the Brahmins
• विप्राणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; 'of the Brahmins'

• दानम्: gift/donation
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent/best
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; दानम् इति विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator quoting the donors (the Lokapālas/establishers)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) region (implied)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of donors, hands joined in respectful address, announce a fourfold gift to assembled brāhmaṇas seated on kuśa mats; ritual vessels, cloth bundles, and a scribe’s palm-leaf register indicate formal charity.

Characters & Entities

• Dāna
• Vipras (Brāhmaṇas)
• Cāturvidhya (fourfold gift)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is strengthened through deliberate, generous giving—especially when offered respectfully and collectively to the worthy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in this verse; it remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Announcement and execution of dāna, described as cāturvidhya (fourfold), though the four categories are not enumerated in this line.