Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

यत्पुण्यं कपिलादाने कार्तिक्यां ज्येष्ठपुष्करे । तत्फलं लभते मर्त्त्यो हृषीकेशस्य दर्शनात्

Transliteration

yatpuṇyaṃ kapilādāne kārtikyāṃ jyeṣṭhapuṣkare | tatphalaṃ labhate marttyo hṛṣīkeśasya darśanāt

Translation

കാർത്തികമാസത്തിൽ ജ്യേഷ്ഠ-പുഷ്കരത്തിൽ കപിലാ ഗോദാനം ചെയ്താൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യഫലം, ഹൃഷീകേശനെ ദർശിച്ച मात्रത്തിൽ തന്നെ മനുഷ്യൻ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kapilā-dāne: in the gift of a tawny cow
• kapilā-dāne: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कपिलायाः दाने)

• kārtikyām: in Kārtika (month)
• kārtikyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (month/season context)

• jyeṣṭha-puṣkare: at Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara
• jyeṣṭha-puṣkare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ज्येष्ठे पुṣ्करे / ‘Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara’ as a tīrtha-name)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• labhate: obtains
• labhate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• marttyaḥ: a mortal
• marttyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hṛṣīkeśasya: of Hṛṣīkeśa
• hṛṣīkeśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣīkeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• darśanāt: from seeing (darśana)
• darśanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unnamed Purāṇic narrator (contextual speaker within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-tīrtha (Arbuda)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: a king (nṛpa-sattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim stands before a serene image of Viṣṇu as Hṛṣīkeśa; in the background, symbolic vignettes show a tawny cow being gifted at Puṣkara in Kārtika, visually contrasted with the simplicity of darśana.

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa
• Kārtika
• Kapilā-dāna
• Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sight (darśana) of the Lord at a powerful site can equal major charitable rites, highlighting grace over mere transaction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hṛṣīkeśa (primary), with Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara cited as a benchmark tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kapilā-dāna in Kārtika at Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara is referenced; the verse elevates Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana as yielding equivalent fruit.