Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

त्रयोदशदिनं दानं त्रयोदशगुणं भवेत् । अभ्यर्चितं सुरं दृष्ट्वा गणनाथं गजाननम्

Transliteration

trayodaśadinaṃ dānaṃ trayodaśaguṇaṃ bhavet | abhyarcitaṃ suraṃ dṛṣṭvā gaṇanāthaṃ gajānanam

Translation

Eine Gabe, die dreizehn Tage lang dargebracht wird, wird dreizehnfach an Frucht. Nachdem man Gaṇanātha geschaut und verehrt hat, den elefantengesichtigen Herrn, die ehrwürdige Gottheit…

Word by Word

• trayodaśa-dinam: for thirteen days
• trayodaśa-dinam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśa (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; द्विगु-समास: ‘trayodaśa dināni’ (thirteen-day) used adjectivally

• dānam: gift, donation
• dānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• trayodaśa-guṇam: thirteenfold
• trayodaśa-guṇam: Karma-pravacanīya/Predicative complement
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśa (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; द्विगु-समास: ‘trayodaśa guṇāḥ’ (thirteenfold) used as predicate adjective

• bhavet: would be, becomes
• bhavet: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धा॒तु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada; Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Singular

• abhyarcitam: worshipped
• abhyarcitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-arc (धा॒तु)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle/क्त), Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘having been worshipped’/‘worshipped’

• suram: the god/deity
• suram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Absolutive/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धा॒तु)
• Form: Kṛdanta (absolutive/त्वान्त), from √dṛś; Avyaya-kṛdanta

• gaṇa-nātham: Lord of the gaṇas
• gaṇa-nātham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी): ‘gaṇānāṃ nāthaḥ’

• gaja-ānanam: the elephant-faced (Gaṇeśa)
• gaja-ānanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘gajasya ānanam’ (elephant-faced)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kambalakṣetra (Gaṇanātha darśana)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers daily gifts for thirteen days, then approaches a Gaṇeśa shrine; Gaṇanātha appears elephant-faced, benevolent, with modaka and broken tusk, receiving archana.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇanātha (Gaṇeśa)
• Gajānanā (Elephant-faced Lord)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained charity and sacred darśana amplify spiritual merit; devotion expressed over time bears multiplied fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to a locale where Gaṇanātha (Gaṇeśa) is worshiped and seen; the specific place-name appears in the following verse (Kambalakṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform dāna for thirteen consecutive days, and take darśana of the worshiped Gaṇeśa (Gaṇanātha, Gajānanā).