Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 191

Devanagari script

संक्रांतौ यत्प्रदानेन सूर्ये वा श्रवणेन तु । तत्फलं समवाप्नोति श्रुत्वा माहात्म्यमुतमम्

Transliteration

saṃkrāṃtau yatpradānena sūrye vā śravaṇena tu | tatphalaṃ samavāpnoti śrutvā māhātmyamutamam

Translation

Durch welche Gabe auch immer, die an Saṅkrānti dargebracht wird, oder durch das Hören an einem Sonntag, erlangt man eben diese Frucht, allein indem man dieses höchste Māhātmya vernimmt.

Word by Word

• saṃkrāntau: at the saṅkrānti (solar transit)
• saṃkrāntau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkrānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• yat: which/that (whatever)
• yat: Visheshya (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Relative pronoun (nom./acc. sg.)

• pradānena: by giving (through donation)
• pradānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• sūrye: at (the time of) the Sun (e.g., solar event)
• sūrye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Locative singular

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय — disjunctive particle

• śravaṇena: by hearing
• śravaṇena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोधार्थक-अव्यय — emphatic/contrast particle

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — demonstrative used adjectivally

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• samavāpnoti: attains/obtains fully
• samavāpnoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√āp (धातु) + sam- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Present indicative 3rd sg.

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-भाव (तुमुन्-न), पूर्वकालिक क्रियाविशेषण — Absolutive (gerund)

• māhātmyam: the greatness (māhātmya)
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• uttamam: supreme/excellent
• uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Accusative singular; विशेषण of māhātmyam

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Māhātmya (speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratnāditya māhātmya (Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devotee audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calendar-marked Saṅkrānti scene juxtaposed with a Sunday discourse: on one side devotees give gifts (cloth, grain, gold) to brāhmaṇas; on the other, a congregation listens to the māhātmya—both framed under the same radiant sun.

Characters & Entities

• Saṅkrānti
• Sūrya (Sunday)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma elevates both charity (dāna) and devotional listening (śravaṇa) as parallel paths to the same spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya flow (Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya context), praising the ‘supreme’ māhātmya itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna at Saṅkrānti and/or śravaṇa on Sunday are highlighted as merit-producing observances.