Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तपस्विसंघान्विविधान्ब्राह्मणान्वेदपारगान् । ददौ दानानि बहुशो ब्राह्मणेभ्यो यदृच्छया

Transliteration

tapasvisaṃghānvividhānbrāhmaṇānvedapāragān | dadau dānāni bahuśo brāhmaṇebhyo yadṛcchayā

Translation

त्याने वेदपारंगत ब्राह्मणांच्या विविध तपस्वी-संघांना प्रसंगानुसार वारंवार दाने देऊन संतुष्ट केले.

Word by Word

• तपस्विसङ्घान्: groups of ascetics
• तपस्विसङ्घान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्वि + सङ्घ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (तपस्विनां सङ्घाः)

• विविधान्: various
• विविधान्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (सङ्घान्/ब्राह्मणान्)

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

• वेदपारगान्: versed in the Vedas
• वेदपारगान्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद + पारग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (वेदस्य पारगः = वेदेषु पारङ्गतः)

• ददौ: gave
• ददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• दानानि: gifts, donations
• दानानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• बहुशः: many times; abundantly
• बहुशः: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुशः (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (often/many times)

• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: to the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान), बहुवचन

• यदृच्छया: spontaneously; as it happened
• यदृच्छया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदृच्छा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे (by chance/at will)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Purāṇic narrative style within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (dāna context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king distributes gifts to groups of ascetics and Vedic Brāhmaṇas seated in forest clearings near shrines; recipients bless him; attendants carry baskets and cloth bundles.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas
• tapasvins
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma is strengthened through dāna offered with sincerity to learned and disciplined recipients, generating puṇya and inner purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda region’s tīrtha-cycle is being prepared for; the immediate narrative context leads into the Raktānubandha Tīrtha episode in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna—repeated charitable giving to Veda-versed Brāhmaṇas and ascetics, performed naturally as opportunities arise.