Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

दशाश्वमेधे यद्दानं दीयते शिवयोगिनाम् । दशाश्वमेधसदृशं भवेत्तन्नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

daśāśvamedhe yaddānaṃ dīyate śivayoginām | daśāśvamedhasadṛśaṃ bhavettannātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

Welche Gabe auch immer den Yogins Śivas am Tīrtha Daśāśvamedha dargebracht wird, diese Spende wird dem Verdienst der Frucht eines Aśvamedha gleich—daran besteht kein Zweifel.

Word by Word

• दशाश्वमेधे: in (the case of) ten Aśvamedha sacrifices
• दशाश्वमेधे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — locative; द्विगुसमासः दश-अश्वमेध = ‘ten Aśvamedhas’

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun agreeing with ‘दानम्’

• दानम्: gift/donation
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमानकाल), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग — present passive, 3rd sg. ‘is given’

• शिवयोगिनाम्: of/for the Śiva-yogins
• शिवयोगिनाम्: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — genitive plural; समासः शिव-योगिन् = ‘Śiva-yogins’

• दशाश्वमेधसदृशम्: equal to ten Aśvamedhas
• दशाश्वमेधसदृशम्: Pratipādya (Predicate complement/पूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक) + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicate adjective to ‘दानम्’; समासः दश-अश्वमेध-सदृश = ‘equal to ten Aśvamedhas’

• भवेत्: would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Copular action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — optative, 3rd sg.

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun referring to the statement/result

• न: not/no
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — negation particle

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — indeclinable ‘here/in this matter’

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedha-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a riverbank ghāṭa, a pilgrim offers gifts (cloth, food, gold, cows symbolically) to ash-smeared Śaiva yogins; above, a subtle vision of a horse-sacrifice altar appears as a luminous equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śiva-yogin
• Daśāśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with faith at a sanctified tīrtha—especially to Śiva’s ascetics—multiplies in merit beyond ordinary calculation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daśāśvamedha, presented as a powerful tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving) specifically directed to Śiva-yogins at the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha.