Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

एकोत्तरशतं वंश्यान्नवेत्पायस कर्दमम् । क्षीरोदरोधः पुण्यात्मा भक्त्या तत्रैकधेनुदः

Transliteration

ekottaraśataṃ vaṃśyānnavetpāyasa kardamam | kṣīrodarodhaḥ puṇyātmā bhaktyā tatraikadhenudaḥ

Translation

Un seul don de vache, offert là avec dévotion par une âme méritante sur la rive de Kṣīroda, procure une pleine satiété—comme de payasa et d’offrandes sucrées—à cent un descendants de la lignée.

Word by Word

• eka-uttara-śatam: one hundred and one
• eka-uttara-śatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (एकेनोत्तरं शतम् = 101)

• vaṃśyān: descendants
• vaṃśyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• navet: should lead/should take
• navet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातुः √nī (ने)

• pāyasa: rice-milk, sweet milk preparation
• pāyasa: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; (कर्दमम् इति विशेषणत्वेन)

• kardamam: mud/slush (here: a thick mixture)
• kardamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kardama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• kṣīroda-rodhaḥ: the bank of the Kṣīroda
• kṣīroda-rodhaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīroda (प्रातिपदिक) + rodha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (क्षीरोदस्य रोधः)

• puṇya-ātmā: a virtuous-souled person
• puṇya-ātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (यस्य आत्मा पुण्यः)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• eka-dhenudaḥ: one who gives a single cow
• eka-dhenudaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + dhenuda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः (एकः दhenudaḥ = one cow-giver)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣīroda (tīra)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee on a luminous riverbank labeled Kṣīroda offers a decorated cow to a brāhmaṇa; behind, subtle ancestral figures receive bowls of kṣīra/pāyasa-like satisfaction, indicating lineage nourishment.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣīroda (Kṣīrābdhi)
• Pitṛs/lineage (implicit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A small act of charity, when offered with bhakti at a great tīrtha, expands into vast merit benefiting one’s entire lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṣīroda-rodha (the bank of Kṣīroda/Kṣīrābdhi) in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Go-dāna—offering even a single cow there with devotion for ancestral/lineage benefit.