Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

चातुर्मास्ये दुग्धदानं दधि तक्रं महाफलम् । जन्मकाले येन बद्धः पिंडस्तद्दानमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

cāturmāsye dugdhadānaṃ dadhi takraṃ mahāphalam | janmakāle yena baddhaḥ piṃḍastaddānamuttamam

Translation

Während des Cāturmāsya bringt die Gabe von Milch—ebenso von Quark und Buttermilch—große Frucht. Und was immer einen zur Zeit der Geburt genährt hat: dessen Spende gilt als die höchste Gabe.

Word by Word

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी (locative of time)

• दुग्धदानम्: gift of milk
• दुग्धदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुग्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (milk-gift)

• दधि: curd
• दधि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तक्रम्: buttermilk
• तक्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• महाफलम्: of great fruit (highly meritorious)
• महाफलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• जन्मकाले: at the time of birth
• जन्मकाले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• बद्धः: bound
• बद्धः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे विशेषण

• पिण्डः: the body/embryo-mass
• पिण्डः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• दानम्: gift, donation
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent, best
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor offers milk, curd, and buttermilk to pilgrims during monsoon; a symbolic inset shows a mother nursing an infant, indicating ‘birth-time sustenance’ as the model for highest charity.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seasonal giving aligned with sacred time (Cāturmāsya) multiplies merit; nourishing gifts are especially exalted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within a tīrtha-māhātmya setting, but the instruction is primarily about Cāturmāsya dāna rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Donate milk, curd, and buttermilk during Cāturmāsya; offer nourishing substances as a superior form of dāna.