Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

गवां शतसहस्रैस्तु दत्तैर्यत्कुरुजांगले । पुण्यं भवति देवेशि तद्गोप्यादित्यदर्शने

Transliteration

gavāṃ śatasahasraistu dattairyatkurujāṃgale | puṇyaṃ bhavati deveśi tadgopyādityadarśane

Translation

ഹേ ദേവേശി! കുരുജാംഗലത്തിൽ ലക്ഷ ഗോകൾ ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യം, ഗോപ്യാദിത്യന്റെ ദർശനമാത്രം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• śata-sahasraiḥ: with hundreds and thousands (i.e., by hundreds of thousands)
• śata-sahasraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• dattaiḥ: by (things) given; by gifts
• dattaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धाातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय) → datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

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

• kuru-jāṅgale: in Kurujāṅgala (region)
• kuru-jāṅgale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + jāṅgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhavati: arises/is
• bhavati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• deveśi: O Lady of the gods
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that (merit)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); तद्-निर्देश (correlative)

• gopya-āditya-darśane: at the sight of Gopya-Āditya
• gopya-āditya-darśane: Adhikarana (Location/occasion/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopya (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopyāditya

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as deveśi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary comparison tableau: on one side, Kurujāṅgala with vast cow-gifting—lines of cows, donors, priests; on the other, a pilgrim simply beholding the sacred Gopyāditya spot at Prabhāsa, receiving the same luminous merit.

Characters & Entities

• Gopyāditya
• Kurujāṅgala
• Go-dāna (cow-gift)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-darśana can grant immense merit, sometimes equated with large-scale charity, when approached with reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gopyāditya’s sacred presence within Prabhāsa Kṣetra is praised as highly merit-giving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A merit comparison is made with go-dāna (donation of cows); the emphasized act here is darśana (seeing the deity/site).