Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

भूमिदानानि सर्वाणि धर्माः सर्वे दयादिकाः । तस्य क्षेत्रस्य पुरतः कलां नार्हंति षोडशीम्

Transliteration

bhūmidānāni sarvāṇi dharmāḥ sarve dayādikāḥ | tasya kṣetrasya purataḥ kalāṃ nārhaṃti ṣoḍaśīm

Translation

Tous les dons de terres, et toutes les formes de dharma—telles que la compassion et le reste—n’égalent pas même le seizième du mérite de ce kṣetra sacré.

Word by Word

• भूमिदानानि: gifts of land
• भूमिदानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि + दान (प्रातिपदिक); भूमि-दान- (समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वाणि: all
• सर्वाणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• धर्माः: duties/virtues
• धर्माः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• दयादिकाः: beginning with compassion, etc.
• दयादिकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दया + आदि (प्रातिपदिक); दया-आदि- (समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the sacred field/region
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पुरतः: before; in the presence of
• पुरतः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, स्थानवाचक (adverb/postposition: 'in front of/before')

• कलाम्: a part; a fraction
• कलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध (negation particle)

• अर्हन्ति: are worthy of; deserve
• अर्हन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• षोडशीम्: the sixteenth part (full measure)
• षोडशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षोडशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor offers a miniature model of land (fields, boundary markers) and a compassionate act (feeding, sheltering) shown on one side; on the other, the kṣetra radiates, visually ‘outweighing’ the scales of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūmi-dāna (land donation)
• Dayā (compassion)
• Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text magnifies the sanctity of the kṣetra: divine presence concentrated in place can grant extraordinary merit beyond conventional charity and virtues.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Adhyāya 16 kṣetra (associated earlier with Hāṭakeśvara).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it reinforces pilgrimage/attendance to the kṣetra as a supreme dharmic act.