Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

एकः कन्यासहस्रं तु प्रदद्याच्च यथाविधि । पश्यत्यन्यो हृषीकेशं चातुर्मास्यं समाहितः

Transliteration

ekaḥ kanyāsahasraṃ tu pradadyācca yathāvidhi | paśyatyanyo hṛṣīkeśaṃ cāturmāsyaṃ samāhitaḥ

Translation

L’un peut, selon le rite prescrit, donner en aumône mille jeunes filles ; un autre, l’esprit recueilli, contemple Hṛṣīkeśa durant le Cāturmāsya.

Word by Word

• एकः: one (person)
• एकः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कन्यासहस्रम्: a thousand maidens (as gift)
• कन्यासहस्रम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyā + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कन्यानां सहस्रम्)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक

• प्रदद्यात्: should give
• प्रदद्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• यथाविधि: according to rule
• यथाविधि: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (adverb)

• पश्यति: sees
• पश्यति: Kriya (क्रिया/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• अन्यः: another (person)
• अन्यः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• हृषीकेशम्: Hṛṣīkeśa
• हृषीकेशम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣīkeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• चातुर्मास्यम्: Cāturmāsya observance
• चातुर्मास्यम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समाहितः: composed, intent
• समाहितः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-धा (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Unnamed Purāṇic narrator (contextual speaker within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana during Cāturmāsya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side a grand dāna ceremony with attendants and ritual vessels; on the other a quiet devotee, seated with folded hands, gazing at Hṛṣīkeśa’s icon during the rainy-season vow, with monsoon clouds and temple lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa
• Cāturmāsya
• Kanyā-dāna (hyperbolic mahā-dāna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even extraordinary, hyperbolic acts of giving are rhetorically outshone by sustained, concentrated devotion at the Lord’s presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hṛṣīkeśa, whose Cāturmāsya darśana is praised as supremely meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāturmāsya observance with steady, repeated darśana of Hṛṣīkeśa; the verse contrasts it with yathāvidhi mahā-dāna.