Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

दशाश्वमेधे यद्दानं दीयते शिवयोगिनाम् । दशाश्वमेधसदृशं भवेत्तन्नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

daśāśvamedhe yaddānaṃ dīyate śivayoginām | daśāśvamedhasadṛśaṃ bhavettannātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

Quel que soit le don offert aux yogins de Śiva au tīrtha de Daśāśvamedha, cette aumône devient égale en mérite au fruit d’un Aśvamedha ; là-dessus, nul doute.

Word by Word

• दशाश्वमेधे: in (the case of) ten Aśvamedha sacrifices
• दशाश्वमेधे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — locative; द्विगुसमासः दश-अश्वमेध = ‘ten Aśvamedhas’

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun agreeing with ‘दानम्’

• दानम्: gift/donation
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमानकाल), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग — present passive, 3rd sg. ‘is given’

• शिवयोगिनाम्: of/for the Śiva-yogins
• शिवयोगिनाम्: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — genitive plural; समासः शिव-योगिन् = ‘Śiva-yogins’

• दशाश्वमेधसदृशम्: equal to ten Aśvamedhas
• दशाश्वमेधसदृशम्: Pratipādya (Predicate complement/पूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक) + सदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicate adjective to ‘दानम्’; समासः दश-अश्वमेध-सदृश = ‘equal to ten Aśvamedhas’

• भवेत्: would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Copular action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — optative, 3rd sg.

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun referring to the statement/result

• न: not/no
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — negation particle

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — indeclinable ‘here/in this matter’

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedha-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a riverbank ghāṭa, a pilgrim offers gifts (cloth, food, gold, cows symbolically) to ash-smeared Śaiva yogins; above, a subtle vision of a horse-sacrifice altar appears as a luminous equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śiva-yogin
• Daśāśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with faith at a sanctified tīrtha—especially to Śiva’s ascetics—multiplies in merit beyond ordinary calculation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daśāśvamedha, presented as a powerful tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving) specifically directed to Śiva-yogins at the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha.