Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

अवाप्य दुष्करं स्थानं कुलानां तारयेच्छतम् । चतुरंगुलमात्रेपि दत्ते दामोदराग्रतः

Transliteration

avāpya duṣkaraṃ sthānaṃ kulānāṃ tārayecchatam | caturaṃgulamātrepi datte dāmodarāgrataḥ

Translation

दामोदरासमोर चार बोटे एवढे जरी दान दिले, तरी तो दुर्मिळ पद मिळवून शंभर कुळांचा उद्धार करतो।

Word by Word

• अवाप्य: having obtained
• अवाप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having obtained’

• दुष्करम्: hard to attain
• दुष्करम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter acc sg; qualifying स्थानम्)

• स्थानम्: place, state
• स्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter acc sg)

• कुलानाम्: of families/lineages
• कुलानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (neuter gen pl)

• तारयेत्: should ferry across, deliver
• तारयेत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter acc sg; numeral used as object-quantifier)

• चतुरङ्गुलमात्रे: even in (a gift) of only four finger-breadths measure
• चतुरङ्गुलमात्रे: Adhikarana (Location/Extent/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गुल (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (neuter loc sg); ‘of the measure of four finger-breadths’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: even)

• दत्ते: you give (when one gives)
• दत्ते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन (2nd sg); परस्मैपद

• दामोदराग्रतः: in front of Dāmodara
• दामोदराग्रतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दामोदर (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्रतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (locative sense)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāmodara-sthāna (Vastrāpatha/Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers a tiny measured morsel before Dāmodara; behind him, a luminous ancestral procession—forefathers and descendants—rise as if freed, while a radiant gateway to a ‘hard-to-reach’ realm opens above.

Characters & Entities

• Dāmodara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

At a sacred locus of devotion, even a very small gift offered with faith can uplift not only the giver but also their lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vastrāpathakṣetra tīrtha-context in Prabhāsa, centered on worship before Dāmodara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving even a tiny measured offering (‘four finger-breadths’) before Dāmodara, implying that sincerity outweighs quantity.