Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एकादश्यां विशेषेण कर्त्तव्यं स्नानमुत्तमम् । दानं कुर्याद्यथाशक्त्या स याति परमां गतिम्

Transliteration

ekādaśyāṃ viśeṣeṇa karttavyaṃ snānamuttamam | dānaṃ kuryādyathāśaktyā sa yāti paramāṃ gatim

Translation

Besonders am Ekādaśī soll das vortreffliche rituelle Bad vollzogen werden. Man gebe Almosen nach Kräften; dadurch gelangt man zum höchsten Ziel.

Word by Word

• ekādaśyām: on the Ekādaśī (11th lunar day)
• ekādaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekādaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Saptamī vibhakti (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (singular)

• viśeṣeṇa: especially, in particular
• viśeṣeṇa: Karaṇa (instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana (singular); kriyā-viśeṣaṇa-prayoga (adverbial instrumental)

• karttavyam: to be done, obligatory
• karttavyam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + tavya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Tavya-pratyaya (gerundive/obligatory), Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular); vidhi/niyama (ought to be done)

• snānam: bath, bathing
• snānam: Karma (object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular)

• uttamam: excellent, best
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular); snānam iti viśeṣya-anvaya (agreeing with snānam)

• dānam: gift, charity
• dānam: Karma (object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (singular)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriyā (verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (optative/विधिलिङ्), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (singular), Parasmaipada

• yathāśaktyā: according to one’s ability
• yathāśaktyā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva-samāsa; overall avyaya (indeclinable adverb); components: yathā (according to) + śaktyā (by ability, instr. sg.)

• saḥ: he (such a person)
• saḥ: Kartā (subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (singular); sarvanāma (pronoun)

• yāti: goes, attains
• yāti: Kriyā (verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (present/लट्), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (singular), Parasmaipada

• paramām: supreme
• paramām: Viśeṣaṇa (adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (singular); gatim iti viśeṣya-anvaya

• gatim: state, destination, liberation
• gatim: Karma (object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (singular)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāha Tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (‘rājan’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ekādaśī dawn at the tīrtha: pilgrims bathe in sacred waters, then offer simple but heartfelt gifts—food, cloth, coins—to brāhmaṇas and the needy; a Varāha emblem or shrine anchors the scene, with a calm, luminous sky suggesting ‘paramā gati’.

Characters & Entities

• Ekādaśī
• snāna
• dāna
• paramā gati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious-day discipline (Ekādaśī) joined with purity (snāna) and generosity (dāna) leads toward the highest spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction continues within the Vārāha Tīrtha Māhātmya context of Arbuda Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna particularly on Ekādaśī and give dāna according to one’s means.