Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणेभ्यो विशिष्टेभ्यो नित्यं देहि समाहितः । तिलपात्रं सदा देहि सहिरण्यं विशेषतः

Transliteration

brāhmaṇebhyo viśiṣṭebhyo nityaṃ dehi samāhitaḥ | tilapātraṃ sadā dehi sahiraṇyaṃ viśeṣataḥ

Translation

L’esprit recueilli, donne sans cesse aux brāhmaṇas éminents. Offre toujours en aumône un vase de sésame, et tout particulièrement en l’accompagnant d’or.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: to Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), बहुवचन — masculine dative plural

• विशिष्टेभ्यः: to distinguished (ones)
• विशिष्टेभ्यः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशिष्ट (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-निष्पन्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), बहुवचन — masculine dative plural; विशेषणम् (qualifying ब्राह्मणेभ्यः)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्यम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — adverb ‘always’

• देहि: give
• देहि: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — imperative, 2nd person singular

• समाहितः: composed, attentive
• समाहितः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of implied ‘you’/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — past passive participle used adjectivally; ‘collected/attentive’

• तिलपात्रम्: a vessel of sesame (seeds)
• तिलपात्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — neuter accusative singular

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — adverb ‘always’

• देहि: give
• देहि: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — imperative, 2nd person singular

• सहिरण्यम्: together with gold
• सहिरण्यम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्गार्थ ‘सह’) + हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (सह + हिरण्य), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — neuter accusative singular; विशेषणम् (qualifying तिलपात्रम्)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) — adverb ‘especially’

Speaker

Durvāsā (instruction to Duḥśīla, implied by continuity)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor, calm and focused, offers a sesame-filled vessel and a small gold piece to a venerable brāhmaṇa at a temple/tīrtha setting; ritual purity and order emphasized.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• tilapātra (sesame-vessel)
• hiraṇya (gold)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification and merit are strengthened through steady, mindful charity—especially offerings like sesame and gold given to worthy recipients.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the immediate passage emphasizes tīrtha-based purification practices rather than naming a single pan-Indian site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nitya-dāna: regularly giving to distinguished Brāhmaṇas, specifically tilapātra-dāna (sesame in a vessel), especially accompanied by gold.