Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ब्रह्महत्यासहस्रं तु तस्य दर्शनतो व्रजेत् । गोभूहिरण्यवासांसि तत्र दद्याद्विचक्षणः

Transliteration

brahmahatyāsahasraṃ tu tasya darśanato vrajet | gobhūhiraṇyavāsāṃsi tatra dadyādvicakṣaṇaḥ

Translation

Selbst tausend Sünden der Brahmahatyā weichen schon durch bloßen Darśana. Dort soll der Weise Dāna geben: Kühe, Land, Gold und Gewänder.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्महत्या-सहस्रम्: a thousand (sins of) brahma-slaughter
• ब्रह्महत्या-सहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्महत्यायाः सहस्रम् = a thousand of brahma-slaughters)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दर्शनतः: by (mere) seeing
• दर्शनतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) = ‘from/through seeing’

• व्रजेत्: would depart/go away
• व्रजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• गो-भू-हिरण्य-वासांसि: cows, land, gold, and garments
• गो-भू-हिरण्य-वासांसि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (प्रातिपदिक) + हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (cows, land, gold, garments)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• दद्यात्: should give
• दद्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विचक्षणः: the discerning (person)
• विचक्षणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (agent noun)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha (Devikā/Umāpati-sthāna context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim beholds the sacred spot with folded hands; dark smoke-like ‘sins’ dissipate into light; nearby, cows are gifted, gold and cloth offered to brāhmaṇas, and land-grant symbolized by a palm-leaf deed.

Characters & Entities

• Darśana (sacred sight)
• Brahmahatyā (grave sin)
• Dāna: cows
• Dāna: land
• Dāna: gold
• Dāna: garments

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy darśana purifies, and that purity is completed through dāna—ethical generosity grounded in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra—especially the Devikā-taṭa/Umāpatīśvara context where darśana grants extraordinary purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give dāna there: cows, land, gold, and garments; the verse also extols the purifying power of darśana.