Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

यद्यदिष्टतमं लोके यच्च पत्युः समीहितम् । तत्तद्गुणवते देयं पतिप्रीणनकाम्यया

Transliteration

yadyadiṣṭatamaṃ loke yacca patyuḥ samīhitam | tattadguṇavate deyaṃ patiprīṇanakāmyayā

Translation

Ce qui est le plus cher au monde, et ce que l’époux a désiré—qu’on l’offre précisément à un récipiendaire digne, dans le souhait de réjouir l’époux.

Word by Word

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्ध (correlative)

• iṣṭatamaṃ: most desired
• iṣṭatamaṃ: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक; iṣ-धातोः क्त) + tama (तमप्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अतिशय-विशेषणम् (superlative)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• patyuḥ: of the husband
• patyuḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• samīhitam: desired/intended
• samīhitam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-īh (ईह्-धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (desired/intended)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तद्-सम्बन्ध (correlative)

• tat: that (each such)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्ध

• guṇavate: to the virtuous (person)
• guṇavate: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guṇavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to the virtuous/possessing qualities)

• deyaṃ: should be given
• deyaṃ: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deya (प्रातिपदिक; dā-धातोः यत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (to be given)

• pati-prīṇana-kāmyayā: with the desire to please the husband
• pati-prīṇana-kāmyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक) + prīṇana (प्रातिपदिक; प्री-धातोः ल्युट्) + kāmyā (प्रातिपदिक; काम्य-स्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पतेः प्रीणनं काम्यते यया)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers a bundle of cloth and a food vessel to a learned, humble recipient near a Kāśī shrine; in the background, the Gaṅgā and ghats; the giver’s face shows quiet resolve, not display.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is cultivated through charitable giving directed to worthy recipients and motivated by sincere devotional intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is situated in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa discourse, without naming a specific tirtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—giving cherished items to a virtuous person (guṇavat) as a meritorious act.