Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

अस्मिंस्तीर्थे तु यो दानं त्रुटिमात्रं च कांचनम् । ददाति द्विजमुख्याय मेरुतुल्यं भवेत्फलम्

Transliteration

asmiṃstīrthe tu yo dānaṃ truṭimātraṃ ca kāṃcanam | dadāti dvijamukhyāya merutulyaṃ bhavetphalam

Translation

Doch an diesem Tīrtha: Wer auch nur ein winziges Maß Gold einem erhabenen Brahmanen spendet, dessen Verdienst wird so groß wie der Berg Meru.

Word by Word

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; Locative singular

• tīrthe: in the tīrtha
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; Locative singular

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle)

• yaḥ: who (someone who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Relative pronoun

• dānam: a gift/charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; Accusative singular

• truṭimātram: of a mere tiny measure
• truṭimātram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: truṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (त्रुटिः एव मात्रा); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular qualifying kāṃcanam/dānam

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• kāṃcanam: gold
• kāṃcanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāñcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; Accusative singular

• dadāti: gives
• dadāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; Present, 3rd sg.

• dvijamukhyāya: to a foremost brāhmaṇa
• dvijamukhyāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + mukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (द्विजेषु मुख्यः); पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; Dative singular

• merutulyam: equal to (Mount) Meru
• merutulyam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक) + tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मेरुणा तुल्यम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; used predicatively with phalam

• bhavet: would be/becomes
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (सम्भावना/आशीः), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; Optative, 3rd sg.

• phalam: the result
• phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/विषय), एकवचन; Nominative singular

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-tīrtha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Prabhāsa offers a tiny piece of gold into the hands of an eminent brāhmaṇa; behind them rises a symbolic Mount Meru, indicating the vast reward.

Characters & Entities

• dāna
• kāñcana (gold)
• dvija
• Meru
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In a powerful tīrtha, even small acts of generosity become spiritually immense when offered with right intention and to worthy recipients.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha in Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Sarasvatī-associated context) praised in Adhyāya 270.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—giving even a tiny amount of gold to a worthy brāhmaṇa at the tīrtha.