Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

मितं कृष्णलकेनापि योदद्यान्मुक्तिमंडपे । स्वर्णं सौवर्णयानेन स तु संचरते दिवि

Transliteration

mitaṃ kṛṣṇalakenāpi yodadyānmuktimaṃḍape | svarṇaṃ sauvarṇayānena sa tu saṃcarate divi

Translation

Même s’il ne donne qu’une offrande mesurée—fût-ce un seul kṛṣṇalaka—dans le Mukti Maṇḍapa, il parcourt le ciel sur un char d’or.

Word by Word

• mitam: a measured (amount)
• mitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mita (कृदन्त; √mā (धाातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि विशेषण (measured/limited)

• kṛṣṇa-lakena: by a black-laka measure (even)
• kṛṣṇa-lakena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + laka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (कृष्णः लकः)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), अपि=even/also

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धाातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष? (actually 3rd person), एकवचन; √dā—दद्यात्=should give

• mukti-maṇḍape: in the Mukti pavilion
• mukti-maṇḍape: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुक्तेः मण्डपः)

• svarṇam: gold
• svarṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• sauvarṇa-yānena: by a golden vehicle
• sauvarṇa-yānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sauvarṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + yāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सुवर्णस्य/सुवर्णमयम् यानम्)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• saṃcarate: moves about
• saṃcarate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √car (धाातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; उपसर्गः सम्

• divi: in heaven
• divi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: div (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mukti Maṇḍapa (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Traditional interlocutor (often Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside Mukti Maṇḍapa: a devotee offers a tiny measured gift (kṛṣṇalaka) to a brāhmaṇa or temple receptacle; above, a vision of a golden chariot (sauvarṇa-yāna) moving through luminous svarga.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mukti Maṇḍapa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered in Kāśī, even if tiny, becomes immensely fruitful due to the sanctity of the place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mukti Maṇḍapa in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing dāna (a gift/charitable offering), even of a very small measured amount, at the Mukti Maṇḍapa.