Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

संक्रान्तौ च व्यतीपाते द्वादश्यां च विशेषतः । ब्राह्मणं भोजयेदेकं कोटिर्भवति भोजिता

Transliteration

saṃkrāntau ca vyatīpāte dvādaśyāṃ ca viśeṣataḥ | brāhmaṇaṃ bhojayedekaṃ koṭirbhavati bhojitā

Translation

സംക്രാന്തി, വ്യതീപാതം, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ദ്വാദശിയിൽ—ഒരു ബ്രാഹ്മണനെ ഭോജനിപ്പിച്ചാലും, അത് കോടി പേരെ ഭോജനിപ്പിച്ചതിന് തുല്യഫലം നൽകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• संक्रान्तौ: at the Saṅkrānti (solar ingress)
• संक्रान्तौ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्रान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• व्यतीपाते: at Vyatīpāta (an auspicious yoga)
• व्यतीपाते: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यतीपात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• द्वादश्याम्: on Dvādaśī
• द्वादश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/विशेषबोधक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘especially’)

• ब्राह्मणम्: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भोजयेत्: should feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु) [णिच् causative: भोजय-]
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: ‘cause to eat/feed’)

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• कोटिः: a crore (ten million)
• कोटिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भवति: becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भोजिता: the fed person (counts as)
• भोजिता: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु) [णिच् causative: भोजय-]
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘one who has been fed’

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Someśvara area)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A simple riverside feeding: one brāhmaṇa seated on kuśa mat receives a meal; behind him, a symbolic vision shows countless satisfied recipients, indicating the crore-fold equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Saṅkrānti
• Vyatīpāta
• Dvādaśī
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed at potent sacred times yields multiplied merit, emphasizing timing (kāla) as a force in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Revā/Narmadā tīrtha context of Adhyāya 142, where such timed gifts are praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding a brāhmaṇa) on Saṅkrānti, Vyatīpāta, and especially Dvādaśī.