Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अनावृष्टिहते देशे सस्ये च प्रलयं गते । एकं यो भोजयेद्विप्रं कोटिर्भवति भोजिता

Transliteration

anāvṛṣṭihate deśe sasye ca pralayaṃ gate | ekaṃ yo bhojayedvipraṃ koṭirbhavati bhojitā

Translation

Dans un pays frappé par la sécheresse, lorsque les récoltes ont péri, quiconque nourrit ne fût-ce qu’un seul brāhmaṇa acquiert un mérite égal à celui d’avoir nourri un koṭi (dix millions).

Word by Word

• अनावृष्टिहते: struck by drought
• अनावृष्टिहते: Adhikarana (Location qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनावृष्टिहत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; अन् + आवृष्टि + √हन् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (अनावृष्ट्या हतः); विशेषणम् (देशे)

• देशे: in the region
• देशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• सस्ये: in the crops
• सस्ये: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्रलयम्: destruction
• प्रलयम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गते: when (it) has gone (to ruin)
• गते: Adhikarana (Temporal/locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √गम् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सस्ये) / सति-सप्तमी भावः

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Karman (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (विप्रम्)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• भोजयेत्: should feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच् (causative) भावः—भोजयति (to cause to eat/feed)

• विप्रम्: a brahmin
• विप्रम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कोटिः: a crore (ten million)
• कोटिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवति: becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भोजिता: the feeder (one who feeds)
• भोजिता: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोजितृ (प्रातिपदिक; √भुज् + तृच्/तृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-नाम (agent noun)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (sages) (as quoted within Śiva’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A parched landscape with cracked earth and withered fields; a humble donor offers a single meal to a brāhmaṇa/ascetic under a sparse tree, while the sea-breeze of Prabhāsa and distant Somnātha silhouette suggest the sacred coast.

Characters & Entities

• Vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• Anāvṛṣṭi (drought)
• Anna-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed under hardship carries multiplied merit; giving when resources are scarce is especially dharmic.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching appears within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative that culminates in the Akṣamāleśvara/Ugraseneśvara shrine account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding (bhojana/anna-dāna), specifically feeding a vipra, with stated multiplied spiritual merit during drought.