Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

अन्यत्र दत्त्वा सर्वस्वं सुकृतं यत्समीरितम् । सहस्रभोजनात्काश्यां तद्भूयादयुताधिकम्

Transliteration

anyatra dattvā sarvasvaṃ sukṛtaṃ yatsamīritam | sahasrabhojanātkāśyāṃ tadbhūyādayutādhikam

Translation

അന്യത്ര സർവ്വസ്വം ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന സുകൃതമെന്നു പറയുന്നതു, കാശിയിൽ ആയിരം പേർക്ക് ഭോജനം നൽകുന്നതിലൂടെ അയുതാധികമായി (പതിനായിരം അധികം) വർദ്ധിക്കട്ടെ।

Word by Word

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive); “having given”

• सर्वस्वम्: everything (one owns)
• सर्वस्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + स्व (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; कर्मधारय (सर्वं स्वम्) — “one’s entire wealth/possessions”

• सुकृतम्: merit
• सुकृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + कृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; “good deed/merit”

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (relative)

• समीरितम्: is proclaimed
• समीरितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + ईर् (धातु)
• Form: कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; “is declared/mentioned”

• सहस्रभोजनात्: from feeding a thousand
• सहस्रभोजनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + भोजन (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सहस्रं भोजनानि/भोजनम्) — “from feeding a thousand (persons)”

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन

• तत्: that (merit)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (correlative)

• भूयात्: would be
• भूयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; “would become/be”

• अयुताधिकम्: ten-thousand more
• अयुताधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अयुत + अधिक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अयुतेन अधिकम्) — “more by ten-thousand; ten-thousand-fold greater”

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A long line of seated guests on ghat steps or a dharmaśālā courtyard in Kāśī receiving food; servers offer leaf-plates, water, and respectful salutations; temple spires and Gaṅgā visible.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Dāna (charity)
• Bhojana (feeding)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed in Kāśī—especially feeding—yields exceptionally magnified merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), as a premier field for dāna and annadāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sahasra-bhojana—feeding a thousand people (annadāna) in Kāśī.