Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

दानानि राहुग्रस्तेर्के ददतां यत्फलं भवेत् । कुरुक्षेत्रे हि तत्काश्यामत्रैव स्याद्दशाधिकम्

Transliteration

dānāni rāhugrasterke dadatāṃ yatphalaṃ bhavet | kurukṣetre hi tatkāśyāmatraiva syāddaśādhikam

Translation

राहु से ग्रस्त सूर्य (ग्रहण) के समय दान देने से जो फल होता है, वही फल—कुरुक्षेत्र में भी—काशी में यहीं दस गुना अधिक हो जाता है।

Word by Word

• दानानि: gifts
• दानानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — “gifts/charities”

• राहु-ग्रस्ते: in (the time of) Rahu-seized
• राहु-ग्रस्ते: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राहु (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रस् (धातु) → ग्रस्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, भूतकृत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “when (the sun is) seized by Rahu” (qualifies ‘अर्के’)

• अर्के: in the sun (during eclipse)
• अर्के: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — “in the sun” (i.e., during eclipse)

• ददताम्: give
• ददताम्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन — “(of those) who give” (used as finite verb in relative clause)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — relative pronoun qualifying ‘फलम्’

• फलम्: result
• फलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — “fruit/result”

• भवेत्: would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — “would be”

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukshetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु-क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “in Kurukshetra”

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (particle), emphasis/indeed

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — demonstrative qualifying implied ‘फलम्’

• काश्याम्: in Kashi
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — “in Kashi”

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Desha-adhikarana (Locative adverbial/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अवधारण (restrictive particle)

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• दश-अधिकम्: tenfold greater
• दश-अधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष — “ten times more” (qualifies implied ‘फलम्’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī) dāna-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (traditional frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An eclipse sky (darkened sun with halo) above Kāśī ghāṭs; donors give alms to brāhmaṇas and the poor; a small side-scene shows Kurukṣetra as a distant plain, visually subordinated to Kāśī’s ghāṭ-temples.

Characters & Entities

• Rāhu
• Arka (Sun)
• Kurukṣetra
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is presented as a multiplier of dharmic acts, surpassing even renowned merit-yielding times and places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is glorified as a supreme field of merit, compared to Kurukṣetra and eclipse-time giving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charitable giving), specifically referenced in the context of solar eclipse observances.