Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणान्भोजयेद्यस्तु भक्त्या तस्मिन्नवैर्यवैः । यवसंख्याप्रमाणानि युगानि दिवि मोदते

Transliteration

brāhmaṇānbhojayedyastu bhaktyā tasminnavairyavaiḥ | yavasaṃkhyāpramāṇāni yugāni divi modate

Translation

അവിടെ ഭക്തിയോടെ പുതുയവംകൊണ്ട് ബ്രാഹ്മണരെ ഭോജനിപ്പിക്കുന്നവൻ, യവകണങ്ങളുടെ എണ്ണത്തിന് തുല്യമായ യുഗങ്ങൾ സ്വർഗത്തിൽ ആനന്ദിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• भोजयेत्: should feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/सम्भावना-आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच् (causative) = 'should cause to eat/feed'

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/अवधारण-व्यतिरेक) = 'indeed/but'

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• तस्मिन्: on that (occasion)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; निर्देश (तस्मिन् काले/दिने)

• नवैः: with fresh/new
• नवैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (यवैः सह)

• यवैः: barley grains
• यवैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• यवसंख्याप्रमाणानि: measured by the count of barley grains
• यवसंख्याप्रमाणानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यव + संख्या + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: यवानां संख्यया प्रमाणानि (measured by the number of barley grains)

• युगानि: yugas (ages)
• युगानि: Karma (Extent/कर्म-परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (कालपरिमाण)

• दिवि: in heaven
• दिवि: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैकल्पिकं: द्युलोक-स्थानवाचक)

• मोदते: rejoices
• मोदते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) prescribing dāna and hospitality (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Acaleśa/Sumaheśvara vicinity)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shaded courtyard near the shrine: seated brāhmaṇas are served barley-based dishes with reverence; the donor offers water for ācamana and dakṣiṇā, while temple flags flutter in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• Yava (barley)
• Heaven (Divi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional charity—especially feeding the learned—multiplies merit immensely when performed in a sanctified context.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘there’ refers to the Arbuda-kṣetra context of Acaleśa worship described in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feed Brāhmaṇas with fresh barley preparations as an act of devotion and charity.