Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

पुनरागत्य स्थानेऽस्मिन्दत्ता ग्रामास्त्रयोदश । काश्यप्यां चैव गंगायां महादानानि षोडश

Transliteration

punarāgatya sthāne'smindattā grāmāstrayodaśa | kāśyapyāṃ caiva gaṃgāyāṃ mahādānāni ṣoḍaśa

Translation

Als man wieder an eben diesen Ort zurückkehrte, wurden dreizehn Dörfer verschenkt; und in Kāśyapī sowie am heiligen Gaṅgā vollzog man sechzehn große Gaben (mahādānas).

Word by Word

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरिति क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb: again)

• āgatya: having returned
• āgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√gam (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यपन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘आगत्य’ = having come/returning

• sthāne: in the place
• sthāne: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dattāḥ: were given
• dattāḥ: Karmaṇi-bhāva (Predicate participle/कर्मणि भावः)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• grāmāḥ: villages
• grāmāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• trayodaśa: thirteen
• trayodaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśan (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; द्विगुसमासः (त्रयः + दश); अव्ययवत्/अविकारी संख्याशब्दः; ‘ग्रामाः’ इति विशेषणम्

• kāśyapyām: at Kāśyapī
• kāśyapyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśyapī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction: and)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed/only)

• gaṅgāyām: in/at the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• mahādānāni: great gifts/donations
• mahādānāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (महद् दानम्)

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अविकारी; ‘महादानानि’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (and Kāśyapī as named locality)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor-king returns to a sanctified spot; scribes and priests record grants of thirteen villages; on the riverbank of Gaṅgā, sixteen mahādānas are ceremonially offered with water-libations and Vedic chanting.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Kāśyapī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed in sacred places—especially associated with the Gaṅgā—becomes a powerful vehicle of dharma and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā is explicitly invoked as a sacred locus for mahādāna; Kāśyapī is also named as a place of religious gifting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of mahādānas (sixteen great gifts) and grāma-dāna (donation of villages).