Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

तुलापुरुषदानादि महादानानि षोडश । ये यच्छंत्यमलात्मानस्ते लभंतेऽमरावतीम्

Transliteration

tulāpuruṣadānādi mahādānāni ṣoḍaśa | ye yacchaṃtyamalātmānaste labhaṃte'marāvatīm

Translation

തുലാപുരുഷദാനം മുതലായ പതിനാറു മഹാദാനങ്ങൾ നിർമലാത്മാക്കളായി ആരെല്ലാം ദാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു, അവർ അമരാവതിയെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• tulā-puruṣa-dāna-ādi: beginning with the Tulāpuruṣa gift
• tulā-puruṣa-dāna-ādi: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulā (प्रातिपदिक) + puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (enumerative base): "तुलापुरुषदानम् आदिः यस्य तत्" (beginning with Tulāpuruṣadāna)

• mahā-dānāni: great gifts
• mahā-dānāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—"महानि दानानि"

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनस्य विशेषणम् (numeral: sixteen)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• yacchanti: give, bestow
• yacchanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; रूपम्: यच्छन्ति (√yam + छ)

• amala-ātmānaḥ: pure-minded (people)
• amala-ātmānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amala (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—"अमलः आत्मा येषां ते" (pure-souled)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• labhante: attain, obtain
• labhante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• amarāvatīm: Amarāvatī (city of the gods/Indra)
• amarāvatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amarāvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object of attain)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual); verse specifically extols mahādāna-phala rather than a named ghat/kunda

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand weighing ceremony (tulāpuruṣa): a donor seated/standing by a balance scale, gold and gifts piled; priests chant; the backdrop opens into Amarāvatī’s jeweled halls as a visionary reward.

Characters & Entities

• Tulāpuruṣa-dāna
• Ṣoḍaśa Mahādānas
• Amarāvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Generosity purified by intention (amalātman) becomes a direct vehicle of merit leading to exalted realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to Amarāvatī as the fruit, within the broader Kāśīkhaṇḍa praise of a Mahendra-like divine abode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving the ṣoḍaśa-mahādānas (sixteen great gifts), beginning with tulāpuruṣa-dāna.