Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

स्नानमात्रेण विप्रेन्द्रा लभेद्गोदानजं फलम् । पितृणां श्राद्धदानेन वियोनिं न च गच्छति

Transliteration

snānamātreṇa viprendrā labhedgodānajaṃ phalam | pitṛṇāṃ śrāddhadānena viyoniṃ na ca gacchati

Translation

Ô meilleur des brāhmaṇas, par le seul bain on obtient le fruit né du don d’une vache. Et en offrant aux Pitṛs les dons du śrāddha, on ne tombe pas dans une matrice de mauvais augure.

Word by Word

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः—स्नानस्य मात्रम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; करण (instrumental)

• विप्रेन्द्राः: O best of Brahmins
• विप्रेन्द्राः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः—विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा (vocative sense)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• गोदानजम्: born of (i.e., resulting from) cow-gift
• गोदानजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोदान (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—गोदानात् जातम् इति पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (फलम् इति)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• पितृणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• श्राद्धदानेन: by giving śrāddha-offering
• श्राद्धदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः—श्राद्धस्य दानम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; करण (instrumental)

• वियोनिम्: a bad womb/low birth
• वियोनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वियोनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• गच्छति: goes, attains
• गच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing Brāhmaṇas; tīrtha-māhātmya style instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā/Prabhāsa tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Viprendra’—best of brāhmaṇas (explicit address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims immerse in sacred waters at dawn; above them, a symbolic radiance suggests the unseen equivalence to go-dāna; nearby, śrāddha offerings are prepared for Pitṛs.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred bathing at a praised tīrtha grants extraordinary merit, and śrāddha strengthens one’s ancestral duty and protects one’s future birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dvārakā tīrtha-region as presented in the Dvārakā Māhātmya, where even snāna is said to yield great fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at the holy place and offer śrāddha-dāna to the Pitṛs.