Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अनुपोष्य त्रिरात्राणि तीर्थान्यनभिगम्य च । अदत्त्वा कांचनं गाश्च दरिद्रोनाम जायते

Transliteration

anupoṣya trirātrāṇi tīrthānyanabhigamya ca | adattvā kāṃcanaṃ gāśca daridronāma jāyate

Translation

One who does not observe a three-night fast, does not visit the holy tīrthas, and does not give gold and cows in charity becomes known as ‘poor’—bereft of auspicious merit.

Word by Word

• अनुपोष्य: having fasted
• अनुपोष्य: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + पुष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having fasted/observed abstinence’

• त्रिरात्राणि: three nights
• त्रिरात्राणि: Karma (Extent of time/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिरात्र (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + रात्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; कालपरिमाण (duration)

• तीर्थानि: holy places
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अनभिगम्य: not having visited
• अनभिगम्य: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अन + अभि + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), निषेधपूर्वक: ‘not having visited/approached’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अदत्त्वा: not having given
• अदत्त्वा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अ + दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘not having given’

• काञ्चनम्: gold
• काञ्चनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• गाः: cows
• गाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• दरिद्रः: a poor man
• दरिद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नाम: indeed/by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), ‘indeed/by name’ (emphatic)

• जायते: is born/becomes
• जायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from didactic prescriptions in the chapter)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra tīrthāni (cluster)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims observing a three-night vow near a coastal tīrtha: simple meals/fasting, lamp-lit vigil, then offering dāna—gold coins and a cow—before proceeding to multiple tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Trirātra-upavāsa
• Tīrtha
• Dāna
• Go-dāna
• Kāñcana-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is safeguarded by discipline: fasting, pilgrimage, and charity together prevent inner poverty and cultivate auspicious prosperity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is given within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, implying the tīrthas of Prabhāsa and the orbit of Someśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observe a trirātra (three-night) fast, visit tīrthas, and perform dāna—especially gold and cows.