Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

हौत्रं धर्मवसिष्ठौ च ब्रह्मत्वं सनको मुनिः । षट्त्रिंशद्ग्रामसाहस्रं प्रादात्तेभ्यः शतक्रतुः

Transliteration

hautraṃ dharmavasiṣṭhau ca brahmatvaṃ sanako muniḥ | ṣaṭtriṃśadgrāmasāhasraṃ prādāttebhyaḥ śatakratuḥ

Translation

Dharma et Vasiṣṭha servirent comme prêtres Hotṛ, et le sage Sanaka tint la charge de Brahman, le grand surveillant du rite. Śatakratu (Indra) leur accorda trente-six mille villages.

Word by Word

• हौत्रम्: the hotṛ-priesthood
• हौत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hautra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पद/कार्यवाचक (office of hotṛ)

• धर्म-वसिष्ठौ: Dharma and Vasiṣṭha
• धर्म-वसिष्ठौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vasiṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (धर्मः च वसिष्ठः च)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• ब्रह्मत्वम्: the brahman-priesthood
• ब्रह्मत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/office of brahman-priest)

• सनकः: Sanaka
• सनकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sanaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मुनिः: sage
• मुनिः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-विशेषणवत् (appositional)

• षट्त्रिंशद्ग्रामसाहस्रम्: a thousand (units) of thirty-six villages (i.e., 36,000 villages)
• षट्त्रिंशद्ग्रामसाहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ-triṃśat (संख्या) + grāma (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—द्विगु/संख्यासमासः (षट्त्रिंशत्-ग्रामाणां साहस्रम्)

• प्रादात्: gave
• प्रादात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + dā (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/अद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तेभ्यः: to them
• तेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी/पञ्चमी (4th/5th), बहुवचन; दान-प्रयोगे चतुर्थी (dative plural)

• शतक्रतुः: Śatakratu (Indra)
• शतक्रतुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatakratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yajña-sthāna on Revā (unspecified)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājaśārdūla (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dharma and Vasiṣṭha act as Hotṛ priests beside the fire; Sanaka sits as Brahman overseer; Indra bestows an immense dakṣiṇā—symbolized by scrolls/land grants and overflowing treasure vessels.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Vasiṣṭha
• Sanaka
• Indra (Śatakratu)
• Hotṛ (Hautra)
• Brahman-priest (Brahmatva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual merit is sealed by dāna—honoring the wise with substantial gifts is portrayed as a royal and divine dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa sacral landscape is reinforced by depicting a grand yajña and immense dāna occurring there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It specifies priestly functions (Hotṛ, Brahman) and records grāma-dāna (gift of villages) as the concluding generosity of the rite.