Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

न तिला धान्यमित्याहुर्देवधान्यमिति स्मृतम् । तस्मात्सर्वेषु दानेषु तिल दानं महोत्तमम्

Transliteration

na tilā dhānyamityāhurdevadhānyamiti smṛtam | tasmātsarveṣu dāneṣu tila dānaṃ mahottamam

Translation

胡麻はただの「穀物」ではないと言われ、「神々の穀」として記憶される。ゆえに、あらゆる布施の中で胡麻の施しは最上である。

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-निपात (negation particle)

• तिलाः: sesame seeds
• तिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• धान्यम्: grain
• धान्यम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धान्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate noun)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• आहुः: they say
• आहुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• देवधान्यम्: divine grain
• देवधान्यम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + धान्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां धान्यम्)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• स्मृतम्: is remembered/said in tradition
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘is remembered/recorded’

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तस्मात् (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: हेतौ अव्ययप्रयोगः (ablatival adverb: ‘therefore/from that reason’)

• सर्वेषु: among all
• सर्वेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• दानेषु: gifts/charities
• दानेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• तिल: sesame
• तिल: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपदवत् (used as first member)

• दानम्: gift, donation
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• महोत्तमम्: supremely excellent
• महोत्तमम्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् च उत्तमं च)

Speaker

Unspecified (Tīrthamāhātmya narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a tīrtha offers a small heap of sesame into a priest’s hands beside a riverbank altar; a subtle divine aura suggests ‘devadhānya’.

Characters & Entities

• Tila (sesame)
• Devas
• Dāna (charity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity becomes spiritually weighty when it aligns with sacred tradition; sesame is singled out as a divinely valued gift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha is not named; the verse gives a general dharma-teaching within a tīrtha-mahātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform tila-dāna (donation of sesame), presented as the highest among gifts.