Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

महादानेन चान्यत्र यत्फलं लभ्यते नरैः । अविमुक्ते तु काकिण्यां दत्तायां तदवाप्यते

Transliteration

mahādānena cānyatra yatphalaṃ labhyate naraiḥ | avimukte tu kākiṇyāṃ dattāyāṃ tadavāpyate

Translation

Die Frucht, die Menschen anderswo durch eine große Gabe erlangen, wird in Avimukta schon durch das Spenden einer einzigen kākiṇī, einer winzigen Münze, in gleicher Weise gewonnen.

Word by Word

• महादानेन: by a great gift
• महादानेन: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महच्च तत् दानम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (elsewhere)

• यत्-फलम्: whatever fruit/result
• यत्-फलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (यत् फलम् = यद् फलम्)

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• नरैः: by men
• नरैः: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• अविमुक्ते: in Avimukta (Kāśī)
• अविमुक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (स्थाननाम); सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Contrast)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• काकिण्याम्: (even) in a kākiṇī (a tiny coin)
• काकिण्याम्: Adhikarana (Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काकिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• दत्तायाम्: when (it is) given
• दत्तायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• तत्: that (same result)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (context: object ‘that [fruit]’)

• अवाप्यते: is attained
• अवाप्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव+आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Kāśī-māhātmya (speaker not explicit in snippet; aligned with Kāśī Khanda discourse tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pilgrimage audience (sages/pilgrims implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī offers a single small coin (kākiṇī) to a worthy recipient near a temple/ghāṭ; above, a symbolic scale shows the coin outweighing heaps of gold elsewhere, indicating amplified merit.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta (Kāśī)
• Dāna
• Puṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred place amplifies merit: in Avimukta, even small charity yields the fruit of great gifts elsewhere.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta—Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a uniquely merit-multiplying sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving), emphasizing that even minimal offerings in Avimukta are highly efficacious.