Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यद्ददाति फलं काशी सेविता कल्पसंख्यया । कला ददाति मथुरा वासरेणापि तत्फलम्

Transliteration

yaddadāti phalaṃ kāśī sevitā kalpasaṃkhyayā | kalā dadāti mathurā vāsareṇāpi tatphalam

Translation

Die Frucht, die Kāśī gewährt, wenn sie über eine Vielzahl von Kalpas verehrt wird, verleiht Mathurā dieselbe Frucht schon in einem winzigen Anteil (kalā); ja, selbst an nur einem einzigen Tag schenkt sie die gleiche Belohnung.

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (amount)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम; 'which (that)'

• ददाति: gives
• ददाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• काशी: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नगरनाम

• सेविता: served/visited
• सेविता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सेव् (धातु) + सेवित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; काशी-विशेषणम्; 'served/visited'

• कल्पसंख्यया: by a count of kalpas (for kalpa-number of times)
• कल्पसंख्यया: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्पानां संख्या)

• कला: a small fraction/part (kalā)
• कला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ददाति: gives
• ददाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मथुरा: Mathurā
• मथुरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नगरनाम

• वासरेण: by (one) day
• वासरेण: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: 'even')

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mathurā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A poetic tableau of two sacred cities weighed on a cosmic scale: Kāśī with kalpa-long lamps and ghāṭas, and Mathurā with a single day’s sunrise over Yamunā yielding equal radiance; sages record the comparison on palm-leaf manuscripts.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mathurā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic māhātmyas teach that certain kṣetras concentrate spiritual potency, making liberation-oriented merit accessible even quickly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mathurā is exalted, with Kāśī used as a revered benchmark for comparison.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sevā (devotional visiting/reverence) of Kāśī and Mathurā is implied; the verse highlights differing intensities of resulting phala.