Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एकं यो भोजयेत्तत्र ब्राह्मणं सूर्यसंनिधौ । कोटिभोज्यं कृतं तेन इत्याह भगवान्हरिः

Transliteration

ekaṃ yo bhojayettatra brāhmaṇaṃ sūryasaṃnidhau | koṭibhojyaṃ kṛtaṃ tena ityāha bhagavānhariḥ

Translation

Quiconque, là-bas, en présence du Soleil, nourrit ne fût-ce qu’un seul brāhmane—c’est pour lui comme s’il en avait nourri un crore; ainsi le proclame le Seigneur Hari.

Word by Word

• ekam: one
• ekam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ब्राह्मणम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• bhojayet: should feed
• bhojayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु) [causative: भोजयति]
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष? (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• brāhmaṇam: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• sūrya-saṃnidhau: in the presence of the Sun
• sūrya-saṃnidhau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सूर्यस्य संनिधिः); अधिकरण

• koṭi-bhojyam: (as if) a crore meals/feeds
• koṭi-bhojyam: Karma (as implied result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojya (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-योग्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (कोट्या भोज्यम्)

• kṛtam: is (deemed) done
• kṛtam: Kriya (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + -ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—"is done/considered done"

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana/Agent-instrument (by him)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-संबन्ध

• iti: thus
• iti: Quotation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय (quotative)

• āha: said
• āha: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेष्य (हरिः) का विशेषण/उपाधि

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

Speaker

Unspecified (citing the authority of Bhagavān Hari)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Sūrya-sannidhi within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varānanā (a goddess/Devī addressed in adjacent verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa near the sea, a pilgrim offers a meal to a seated Brāhmaṇa at sunrise; Sūrya’s disc glows above the horizon, sanctifying the act; nearby are tīrtha markers and temple silhouettes.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Brāhmaṇa
• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small act of charity, when done in a supremely sacred setting, carries vast spiritual weight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, specifically the act done in Sūrya’s presence there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding a Brāhmaṇa (annadāna) near/before Sūrya—said to equal feeding a crore.