Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

गृहप्रासादविद्याभूगोकूपप्राणहाटकम् । एतान्युत्तमदानानि उत्तमद्रव्यदानतः

Transliteration

gṛhaprāsādavidyābhūgokūpaprāṇahāṭakam | etānyuttamadānāni uttamadravyadānataḥ

Translation

Pemberian berupa rumah, istana, pendidikan suci (vidyā), tanah, sapi, sumur, penyelamatan nyawa, dan emas—semuanya disebut ‘dana utama’, karena merupakan persembahan dari sarana yang luhur dan penopang hidup.

Word by Word

• गृह-प्रासाद-विद्या-भू-गो-कूप-प्राण-हाटकम्: house, palace, learning, land, cow, well, life, gold (as items)
• गृह-प्रासाद-विद्या-भू-गो-कूप-प्राण-हाटकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रासाद (प्रातिपदिक) + विद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (प्रातिपदिक) + गो (प्रातिपदिक) + कूप (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + हाटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्वसमास (collective copulative): नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘(the set of) house, palace, learning, land, cow, well, life, gold’

• एतानि: these
• एतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• उत्तम-दानानि: excellent gifts
• उत्तम-दानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (उत्तमानि दानानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• उत्तम-द्रव्य-दानतः: by (the criterion of) giving excellent materials
• उत्तम-द्रव्य-दानतः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/हेतु-निर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास + तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय: ‘from/according to giving of excellent substances’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence of ‘excellent gifts’: a donor grants a house deed, a teacher instructs students (vidyā-dāna), a field boundary is marked (bhū-dāna), cows are gifted (go-dāna), a well is dug (kūpa), a physician rescues a life (prāṇa-dāna), and gold is offered (hāṭaka).

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest charity is that which sustains life, knowledge, and livelihood—especially life-saving help and foundational resources like land, water, and cows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific sacred place is named; the verse enumerates high-merit forms of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A list of ‘uttama’ (excellent) donations: housing, education, land, cows, wells, saving life, and gold.