Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

गोदानं तत्र देयं तु तद्वत्कृष्णाजिनं प्रिये । अष्टकासु च वृद्धौ च गयायां मृतवासरे

Transliteration

godānaṃ tatra deyaṃ tu tadvatkṛṣṇājinaṃ priye | aṣṭakāsu ca vṛddhau ca gayāyāṃ mṛtavāsare

Translation

Là, il faut assurément offrir le don d’une vache, et de même, ô bien-aimée, une peau d’antilope noire (kṛṣṇājina) : aux jours d’Aṣṭakā, lors des occasions de vṛddhi (prospérité), et à Gayā au jour anniversaire du décès.

Word by Word

• गोदानम्: cow-gift (donation of a cow)
• गोदानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—गवां दानम् (gift of a cow)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश-वाचक (adverb of place)

• देयम्: should be given
• देयम्: Kriya (Obligation/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-अर्थे ‘देय’ (gerundive); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (to be given)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध-बोधक (particle: indeed/but)

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तुल्यतावाचक (adverb: likewise)

• कृष्णाजिनम्: black deerskin
• कृष्णाजिनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + अजिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—कृष्णं अजिनम् (a black deerskin)

• प्रिये: O dear (one)
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; स्त्रीलिङ्गे ‘प्रिये’ (O dear one)

• अष्टकासु: on the Aṣṭakā days
• अष्टकासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, बहुवचन (locative)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• वृद्धौ: during the waxing (phase)
• वृद्धौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative); ‘वृद्धि’ = lunar increase/bright fortnight context

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक

• गयायाम्: at Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative)

• मृतवासरे: on the day of death
• मृतवासरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत (प्रातिपदिक) + वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative); तत्पुरुषः—मृतस्य वासरे (on the day of death/anniversary day)

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Guptagayā (Goṣpada) at Prabhāsa; with Gayā as benchmark

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor at the Prabhāsa tīrtha offers a decorated cow to a brāhmaṇa, with a folded black antelope skin presented alongside; calendar markers suggest Aṣṭakā/vṛddhi occasions; distant imagery of Gayā as a remembered archetype.

Characters & Entities

• Go-dāna (cow-gift)
• Kṛṣṇājina
• Aṣṭakā
• Gayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity (dāna) offered in connection with ancestral rites becomes a powerful support for merit, remembrance, and dharmic continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter centers on Goṣpada Tīrtha in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, while also referencing the famed pitṛ-site Gayā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prescribes go-dāna (cow-gift) and kṛṣṇājina-dāna, especially on Aṣṭakā days, vṛddhi occasions, and in the Gayā context for the deceased.