Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

महादानेन चान्यत्र यत्फलं लभ्यते नरैः । अविमुक्ते तु काकिण्यां दत्तायां तदवाप्यते

Transliteration

mahādānena cānyatra yatphalaṃ labhyate naraiḥ | avimukte tu kākiṇyāṃ dattāyāṃ tadavāpyate

Translation

Le fruit que les hommes obtiennent ailleurs par un grand don, ici à Avimukta on l’obtient pareillement en offrant ne fût-ce qu’une kākiṇī, une infime pièce.

Word by Word

• महादानेन: by a great gift
• महादानेन: Karana (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महच्च तत् दानम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (elsewhere)

• यत्-फलम्: whatever fruit/result
• यत्-फलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (यत् फलम् = यद् फलम्)

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• नरैः: by men
• नरैः: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• अविमुक्ते: in Avimukta (Kāśī)
• अविमुक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (स्थाननाम); सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Contrast)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• काकिण्याम्: (even) in a kākiṇī (a tiny coin)
• काकिण्याम्: Adhikarana (Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काकिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• दत्तायाम्: when (it is) given
• दत्तायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• तत्: that (same result)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (context: object ‘that [fruit]’)

• अवाप्यते: is attained
• अवाप्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव+आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Kāśī-māhātmya (speaker not explicit in snippet; aligned with Kāśī Khanda discourse tradition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pilgrimage audience (sages/pilgrims implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī offers a single small coin (kākiṇī) to a worthy recipient near a temple/ghāṭ; above, a symbolic scale shows the coin outweighing heaps of gold elsewhere, indicating amplified merit.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta (Kāśī)
• Dāna
• Puṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred place amplifies merit: in Avimukta, even small charity yields the fruit of great gifts elsewhere.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta—Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a uniquely merit-multiplying sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving), emphasizing that even minimal offerings in Avimukta are highly efficacious.