Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

सुवर्णालंकृतानां तु कन्यानां शतदानजम् । फलमाप्नोति सम्पूर्णं पितृलोके महीयते

Transliteration

suvarṇālaṃkṛtānāṃ tu kanyānāṃ śatadānajam | phalamāpnoti sampūrṇaṃ pitṛloke mahīyate

Translation

Vollständig erlangt er die Frucht, die dem Verschenken von hundert mit Gold geschmückten Jungfrauen gleichkommt, und er wird in der Welt der Pitṛs, der Ahnen, geehrt.

Word by Word

• suvarṇa-alaṃkṛtānām: of (girls) adorned with gold
• suvarṇa-alaṃkṛtānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suvarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + alaṃkṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √kṛ धातु; अलं-√कृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (कन्यानाम्)

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• kanyānām: of maidens
• kanyānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• śata-dāna-jam: arising from a hundred gifts (i.e., merit of giving a hundred)
• śata-dāna-jam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √jan धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; फलम् इति विशेष्येण समन्वयः

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• āpnoti: attains
• āpnoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• sampūrṇam: complete, full
• sampūrṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sampūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (फलम्)

• pitṛ-loke: in the world of the ancestors
• pitṛ-loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः

• mahīyate: is honored/glorified
• mahīyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mah (मह् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (passive sense)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: the pilgrim’s vow at the river is shown as outweighing lavish gifts—gold-adorned maidens represented iconographically—while Pitṛs in a luminous ancestral realm bestow honor.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛloka
• Kanyā-dāna (as comparison)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-based dharma and offerings can yield extraordinary merit, culminating in honor among the ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha context (connected with Agnitīrtha and associated rites).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving) is praised via a high-merit comparison; the verse highlights the resulting honor in Pitṛloka.