Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

यस्तु भोजयते विप्रांस्तस्मिंस्तीर्थे नराधिप । पायसं घृतमिश्रं तु स लभेत्कोटिजं फलम्

Transliteration

yastu bhojayate viprāṃstasmiṃstīrthe narādhipa | pāyasaṃ ghṛtamiśraṃ tu sa labhetkoṭijaṃ phalam

Translation

Ô roi, quiconque nourrit des brāhmanes en ce tīrtha sacré—en leur offrant un riz au lait mêlé de ghee—obtient un mérite mesuré au crore, innombrablement accru.

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• तु: indeed/and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/पदपूरक-अव्यय (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• भोजयते: feeds
• भोजयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भोजय् (धातु; √भुज् causative)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: causes to eat/feeds)

• विप्रान्: Brahmins
• विप्रान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• नराधिप: O king (lord of men)
• नराधिप: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + अधिप (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नराणाम् अधिपः)

• पायसम्: rice-pudding
• पायसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• घृतमिश्रम्: mixed with ghee
• घृतमिश्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घृत + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः (घृतेन/घृतस्य मिश्रः = mixed with ghee)

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/पदपूरक-अव्यय

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अन्वय-सर्वनाम (correlative: he)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• कोटिजम्: worth a crore-fold / of crores
• कोटिजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि + ज (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कोट्या जातम्/कोटिसम्बन्धि)

• फलम्: fruit (result)
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, addressing a king/narādhipa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā) connected to Narmadeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira / king (narādhipa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a Narmadā riverbank tīrtha, a kingly donor arranges brāhmaṇa-bhojana; brāhmaṇas seated in a row receive bowls of pāyasa glistening with ghee; river, steps/ghāṭa, and ritual vessels frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed at a sanctified place—especially feeding the learned—multiplies in spiritual potency and becomes a major act of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Narmadā-associated tīrtha in this chapter—centered on Narmadeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhojana-dāna: feeding brāhmaṇas at the tīrtha, specifically with pāyasa (sweet rice) mixed with ghee.