Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

दैत्यारेर्भगवत्तिथिश्च विजया नीरं च गगोद्भवं नित्यंकाशिपुरी तथैव तुलसी धात्रीफलं वल्लभम्

Transliteration

daityārerbhagavattithiśca vijayā nīraṃ ca gagodbhavaṃ nityaṃkāśipurī tathaiva tulasī dhātrīphalaṃ vallabham

Translation

Beloved are the sacred lunar day (tithi) of the Lord who is the enemy of the Daityas, the festival of Vijayā, and the water born of the heavenly Gaṅgā; beloved too is Kāśī, ever holy, and likewise Tulasī and the āmalakī fruit—dear to the Lord.

Word by Word

• daityāreḥ: of the enemy of the Daityas (Vishnu/Krishna)
• daityāreḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daityāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bhagavat: of the Lord; divine
• bhagavat: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; विशेषण (of the Blessed Lord)

• tithiḥ: lunar day (tithi)
• tithiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• vijayā: Vijayā (name; victory)
• vijayā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vijayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nīram: water
• nīram: Karta/Item listed (उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

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

• gagodbhavam: sky-born; originating from the sky
• gagodbhavam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaga + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gagāt udbhavam / gagasya udbhavam)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityam (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: always)

• kāśipurī: Kāśī city (Vārāṇasī)
• kāśipurī: Karta/Item listed (उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī + purī (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (kāśī-ākhyā purī)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तथार्थक अव्यय (thus/so; likewise)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• tulasī: Tulasī
• tulasī: Karta/Item listed (उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dhātrīphalam: emblic fruit (āmalakī)
• dhātrīphalam: Karta/Item listed (उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātrī + phala (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dhātryāḥ phalam)

• vallabham: beloved; dear
• vallabham: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vallabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (dear/beloved)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī; Gaṅgā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional still-life: a copper pot of Gaṅgā water, tulasī plant, āmalakī fruits, and a calendar-marked sacred tithi; in the background, Kāśī ghats and a distant Dvārakā-like coastal shrine, symbolizing pan-Indian sacred geography dear to Hari.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (Daityāri)
• Vijayā
• Gaṅgā
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Tulasī
• Āmalakī (Dhātrī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is strengthened by cherishing the Lord’s holy days and sacred purifiers like Gaṅgā water, Tulasī, and āmalakī—beloved aids to dharma and bhakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly praised as an ever-holy city; the broader chapter context also glorifies Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies observance of auspicious tithis (holy lunar days) and reverence for purifying substances (Gaṅgā water, Tulasī, āmalakī) commonly used in pūjā and vrata.