Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

हिरण्यभूमिदानेन तिलदानेन भूयसा । कृष्णाजिनप्रदानेन तिलधेनुप्रदानतः

Transliteration

hiraṇyabhūmidānena tiladānena bhūyasā | kṛṣṇājinapradānena tiladhenupradānataḥ

Translation

സ്വർണ്ണവും ഭൂമിയും ദാനം ചെയ്‌താൽ, ധാരാളം എള്ളുദാനം ചെയ്‌താൽ, കൃഷ്ണാജിനം (കറുത്ത മാൻതോൽ) സമർപ്പിച്ചാൽ, കൂടാതെ തിലധേനുദാനം ചെയ്‌താൽ പുണ്യം മഹത്തായി വർദ്ധിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• हिरण्यभूमिदानेन: by the gift of gold and land
• हिरण्यभूमिदानेन: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्य + भूमि + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘हिरण्यस्य भूमेः दानेन’ — instrumental ‘by giving gold and land’

• तिलदानेन: by giving sesame
• तिलदानेन: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘तिलस्य दानम्’

• भूयसा: more (abundantly)
• भूयसा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषणम् ‘more/greater’ (instrumental of measure/degree)

• कृष्णाजिनप्रदानेन: by giving a black antelope-skin
• कृष्णाजिनप्रदानेन: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण + अजिन + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘कृष्णाजिनस्य प्रदानम्’ — ‘by giving a black antelope-skin’

• तिलधेनुप्रदानतः: by/through the giving of a sesame-cow
• तिलधेनुप्रदानतः: हेतु/अपादान (Cause/Ablative/हेतु-अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तिल + धेनु + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) ‘-तः’; तत्पुरुष-आधारः ‘तिलधेनोः प्रदान’ — ‘from/through the giving of a sesame-cow (made of sesame)’

Speaker

Deductive: a Purāṇic narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa addressing Yudhiṣṭhira (context continues into v.19).

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Dāna-prakaraṇa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual pavilion by the river: gold and land deeds symbolized, heaps of sesame, a black antelope-skin displayed, and a ‘sesame-cow’ effigy offered to a brāhmaṇa priest.

Characters & Entities

• Sesame (tila)
• Kṛṣṇājina (black antelope-skin)
• Tila-dhenu (sesame-cow donation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Specific forms of dāna—especially sesame-related gifts—are upheld as powerful, merit-amplifying acts within Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The broader frame is Revā (Narmadā) sacred territory in Revā-khaṇḍa; this verse itself lists dāna-items rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Donate gold, land, sesame (in abundance), a kṛṣṇājina, and a tila-dhenu as prescribed ritual gifts.