Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

किं तस्य बहुभिर्यज्ञैर्दानैर्वा बहुदक्षिणैः । स्नात्वा चतुष्टये लोके अवाप्तं जन्मनः फलम्

Transliteration

kiṃ tasya bahubhiryajñairdānairvā bahudakṣiṇaiḥ | snātvā catuṣṭaye loke avāptaṃ janmanaḥ phalam

Translation

Was bedarf er vieler Yajñas oder von Gaben mit reichlicher Dakṣiṇā? Durch das Bad im vierfachen heiligen Bezirk hat er schon in dieser Welt die wahre Frucht der menschlichen Geburt erlangt.

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use/need?)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• तस्य: of him/for him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• बहुभिः: by many
• बहुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• यज्ञैः: sacrifices
• यज्ञैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• दानैः: gifts/charities
• दानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• बहु-दक्षिणैः: (rites) with many fees/dakṣiṇās
• बहु-दक्षिणैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (बह्व्यः दक्षिणाः यस्य/येषु)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातुः—स्ना (स्नाने)

• चतुष्टये: in the fourfold (world/realm)
• चतुष्टये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुष्टय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (लोके इति विशेष्ये सति)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• अवाप्तम्: obtained/attained
• अवाप्तम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; धातुः—आप् (प्राप्तौ) उपसर्गः—अव

• जन्मनः: of birth/of one’s life
• जन्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate context of Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Catuṣṭaya-tīrtha (fourfold sacred complex; specific name not given in the verse)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim approaches a fourfold sacred bathing complex—four adjacent waters/ghāṭas or four linked shrines—offering añjali before entering the water; priests and ascetics witness the act; the atmosphere suggests that a single snāna equals many grand sacrifices.

Characters & Entities

• Catuṣṭaya (fourfold tīrtha-set)
• Yajña
• Dāna
• Dakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Direct engagement with a consecrated tīrtha—done with devotion—can fulfill the aim of life more simply than elaborate ritual expenditure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘catuṣṭaya’—a fourfold cluster of sacred bathing places described in Adhyāya 133 (including Varuṇeśvara and Vāteśvara).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) across the fourfold tīrtha-set; the verse contrasts this with yajña, dāna, and dakṣiṇā.