Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

यत्फलं वेदविदुषि भोजिते शतसंख्यया । तत्फलं जायते पार्थ ह्येकेन शिवयोगिना

Transliteration

yatphalaṃ vedaviduṣi bhojite śatasaṃkhyayā | tatphalaṃ jāyate pārtha hyekena śivayoginā

Translation

ഹേ പാർഥാ! നൂറു വേദജ്ഞരെ ഭോജനിപ്പിച്ചാൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന ഫലം, ഒരൊറ്റ ശിവയോഗിയെ ആദരിച്ചാലും അതേ ഫലമായി ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• यत्: which
• यत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘फलम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

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

• वेदविदुषि: in/with a knower of the Veda
• वेदविदुषि: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + विद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘वेदं वेत्ति इति’ (knower of Veda)

• भोजिते: when fed
• भोजिते: Kāla/Condition (Locative absolute)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) from √भुज् ‘to eat/enjoy’ in causative sense ‘to feed’; सप्तमी एकवचन नपुंसक/पुं (locative absolute usage): ‘when (he) is fed’

• शतसंख्यया: by (a) hundredfold count / a hundred times
• शतसंख्यया: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘शतस्य संख्या’ = by a count of a hundred; करणार्थे

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of ‘फलम्’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक (correlative)

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

• जायते: arises
• जायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘arises/is produced’

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• एकेन: by one (person)
• एकेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• शिवयोगिना: by a Śiva-yogin
• शिवयोगिना: Karaṇa (Instrument/Agent-instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘शिवस्य योगी’ (Śiva-yogin)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder offers a simple meal with folded hands to a serene Śiva-yogin; behind them, faint imagery of many learned brāhmaṇas indicates the ‘hundred’ comparison.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha
• Śiva-yogin
• Veda-vid

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to a realized Śiva-yogin carries extraordinary spiritual merit, equated with large-scale charity to scholars.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the verse supports the Revā Khaṇḍa ethos of Śaiva merit within the Narmadā sacred circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhojana-dāna (feeding) / respectful offering to a Śiva-yogin.