Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

यो यच्छति द्विजेन्द्राय धर्मशास्त्रसमुद्भवम् । पुस्तकं वाजिमेधस्य स समग्रं फलं लभेत्

Transliteration

yo yacchati dvijendrāya dharmaśāstrasamudbhavam | pustakaṃ vājimedhasya sa samagraṃ phalaṃ labhet

Translation

Barangsiapa mempersembahkan kepada brāhmaṇa utama sebuah kitab yang lahir dari tradisi Dharmaśāstra, ia memperoleh buah pahala yang sempurna dari yajña Vājimedha.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः

• yacchati: gives
• yacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; अर्थे ‘ददाति’ (to give)

• dvija-indrāya: to the best of the twice-born (a Brahmin)
• dvija-indrāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (द्विजानाम् इन्द्रः)

• dharma-śāstra-samudbhavam: originating from dharma-śāstra
• dharma-śāstra-samudbhavam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharmaśāstra (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पुस्तकम्); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (धर्मशास्त्रात् समुद्भवः)

• pustakam: a book
• pustakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pustaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vāji-medhasya: of the Vājimedha (horse-sacrifice)
• vāji-medhasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāji-medha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (vāji=aśva; medha=yajña)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• samagram: entire / complete
• samagram: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samagra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (फलम्)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• labhet: would obtain
• labhet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (phalaśruti within Sarasvatī tīrtha māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-kṣetra/āyatana (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor respectfully offers a bound manuscript/book to a venerable brāhmaṇa-teacher; the book glows with dharma-syllables; in the background a symbolic horse and yajña-altar indicate Vājimedha equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Dharmaśāstra
• Vājimedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Textual charity—especially dharma-oriented learning—creates immense merit and sustains righteous order in society.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarasvatī tīrtha/āyatana context in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, where knowledge-related dāna is specially praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pustaka-dāna: gifting a Dharmaśāstra-derived book to a learned brāhmaṇa (dvijendra).