Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

दानं ददाति विप्रेभ्यो गोभूतिलहिरण्यकम् । षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि कोटिर्वर्षशतानि च

Transliteration

dānaṃ dadāti viprebhyo gobhūtilahiraṇyakam | ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi koṭirvarṣaśatāni ca

Translation

Il fait des dons aux brāhmanes—vaches, terres, sésame et or—et acquiert ainsi un mérite compté en soixante mille ans, et même en des centaines de crores d’années.

Word by Word

• दानम्: a gift, donation
• दानम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• ददाति: gives
• ददाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• विप्रेभ्यः: to the Brahmins
• विप्रेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), बहुवचन

• गोभूति-ल-हिरण्यकम्: cows, prosperity/wealth, salt, and gold (as gifts)
• गोभूति-ल-हिरण्यकम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + भूति + ल + हिरण्यक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः द्वन्द्व (गवां च भूतेः च लस्य च हिरण्यकस्य च दानम्)

• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: sixty thousand years
• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि + वर्ष + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणां सहस्राणि, षष्ट्या निर्दिष्टानि)

• कोटिः: a crore (ten million)
• कोटिः: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• वर्षशतानि: hundreds of years
• वर्षशतानि: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणां शतानि)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor presents cows adorned with garlands, deeds/soil symbolizing land, bowls of sesame, and gold to brāhmaṇas near the river; the scene conveys abundance and the ‘vast time’ of merit through cosmic motifs (long scroll of years, starry band).

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered in a tīrtha-context, especially to learned Brāhmaṇas, multiplies merit beyond ordinary measure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Adhyāya 220 tīrtha setting of Revākhaṇḍa where dāna is especially fruitful.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna to Brāhmaṇas—cows, land, sesame, and gold—performed as part of tīrtha observance.