Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

चतुःष्कोटि द्विलक्षं च सहस्रं शतमेव च । धेनवस्तेन दत्ताः स्युर्माहात्म्यं शृणु यात्तु यः

Transliteration

catuḥṣkoṭi dvilakṣaṃ ca sahasraṃ śatameva ca | dhenavastena dattāḥ syurmāhātmyaṃ śṛṇu yāttu yaḥ

Translation

Whoever listens to this māhātmya is regarded as having donated cows—four crores, two lakhs, one thousand, and one hundred in number.

Word by Word

• चतुःष्कोटि: four crores
• चतुःष्कोटि: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुः-कोटि (प्रातिपदिक; चतस्रः कोटयः)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (संख्यावाचक-समास); here as numeral count

• द्विलक्षम्: two lakhs
• द्विलक्षम्: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि-लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; द्वे लक्षे)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; numeral count

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; numeral count

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; numeral count

• एव: just/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• धेनवः: cows
• धेनवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular ‘by that (act/person)’

• दत्ताः: (are) given
• दत्ताः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दत्त (कृदन्त; दा धातु + क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) used predicatively; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘given’

• स्युः: would be
• स्युः: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘would be/should be’

• माहात्म्यम्: the greatness (glory)
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘hear!’

• यात्: may attain/go
• यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘may go/attain’

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; ‘indeed/but’

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

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuity)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Lohāsura/Lohayaṣṭī māhātmya (listening)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viprāḥ/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary procession of countless cows being gifted, dissolving into the sound-waves of recitation—showing that listening itself is counted as immense go-dāna.

Characters & Entities

• Māhātmya-śravaṇa
• Dhenū-dāna (cow donation)
• Phalaśruti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic listening, when done with faith, is praised as a high form of dharma comparable to vast acts of charity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dharmāraṇya tīrtha complex whose māhātmya is being heard (centered on Lohayaṣṭī traditions).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa of the māhātmya is prescribed and extolled as yielding the merit of enormous dhenū-dāna.