Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

असतोऽपि समादाय साधुभ्यो यः प्रयच्छति । धनं स्वामिनमात्मानं संतारयति दुस्तरात्

Transliteration

asato'pi samādāya sādhubhyo yaḥ prayacchati | dhanaṃ svāminamātmānaṃ saṃtārayati dustarāt

Translation

Selbst wenn jemand Reichtum aus einer unwürdigen Quelle zusammenträgt, ihn aber den Tugendhaften schenkt, dann trägt dieser Reichtum—zusammen mit seinem Besitzer—den Gebenden über das sonst schwer zu Überquerende: den gefährlichen Übergang des Saṃsāra.

Word by Word

• असतः: from an improper source; from the wicked/untrue
• असतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Kriya-viseshana (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (even/also particle)

• समादाय: having taken/obtained
• समादाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + आ + दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• साधुभ्यः: to the good/virtuous people
• साधुभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान), बहुवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• प्रयच्छति: gives; bestows
• प्रयच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• धनम्: wealth; money
• धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• स्वामिनम्: the master/lord (of that wealth)
• स्वामिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘धनं स्वामिनम्’ इति कर्म-द्वयम् (apposition)

• आत्मानम्: himself (the self)
• आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संतारयति: causes to cross; saves
• संतारयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तॄ (धातु) + णिच्
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त

• दुस्तरात्: from the hard-to-cross (danger)
• दुस्तरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुस्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic māhātmya narration style in Prabhāsakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A penitent donor offers a pouch of coins and cloth to serene sādhus near a coastal shrine; a symbolic river/ocean of saṃsāra behind them, with a small boat representing ‘crossing’.

Characters & Entities

• sādhu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Giving to the virtuous has purifying power and becomes a means to transcend saṃsāra, even when one’s wealth is ethically compromised.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), whose māhātmya frames dāna as a key purifier and merit-generator for pilgrims and householders.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—specifically giving wealth to sādhus (worthy, virtuous recipients).