Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 102

Devanagari script

गोदानं च प्रकर्तव्यमस्मिंस्तीर्थे विशेषतः । गोदानं हि यतः पार्थ सर्वदानाधिकं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

godānaṃ ca prakartavyamasmiṃstīrthe viśeṣataḥ | godānaṃ hi yataḥ pārtha sarvadānādhikaṃ smṛtam

Translation

ഈ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ പ്രത്യേകമായി ഗോദാനം നിർബന്ധമായി ചെയ്യണം. കാരണം, ഹേ പാർഥ, ഗോദാനം സർവ്വ ദാനങ്ങളിലുമധികം ശ്രേഷ്ഠമെന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• गोदानम्: gift of a cow
• गोदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गवां दानम्)

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

• प्रकर्तव्यम्: should be done
• प्रकर्तव्यम्: Vidhi (Injunction/विधि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र- (उपसर्ग) + √कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्) कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् ‘to be done’

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• तीर्थे: holy place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थ (adverb: ‘especially’)

• गोदानम्: gift of a cow
• गोदानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• यतः: because
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ-अव्यय (causal indeclinable: ‘because/since’)

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

• सर्वदानाधिकम्: superior to all gifts
• सर्वदानाधिकम्: Predicate (Pradhana/प्रधाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेभ्यः दानेभ्यः अधिकम्)

• स्मृतम्: is said/considered
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृत (कृदन्त; √स्मृ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘remembered/declared’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेयम्

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (addressing Pārtha/Arjuna as per verse vocative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Reva-tīrtha (Narmadā ford; unspecified)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a river ford, a devotee offers a decorated cow with garlands to a dvija while invoking sankalpa; the river glows, suggesting tīrtha potency.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Tīrtha (Revā-kṣetra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Among charities, go-dāna is exalted as especially potent, and tīrtha-context amplifies its merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse explicitly points to “this tīrtha” in Revā-kṣetra (Revā Khaṇḍa setting).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform go-dāna particularly at the tīrtha, as it is taught to surpass other forms of giving.