Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

चातुर्मास्ये दुग्धदानं दधि तक्रं महाफलम् । जन्मकाले येन बद्धः पिंडस्तद्दानमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

cāturmāsye dugdhadānaṃ dadhi takraṃ mahāphalam | janmakāle yena baddhaḥ piṃḍastaddānamuttamam

Translation

Dalam Cāturmāsya, sedekah susu—demikian juga dadih dan susu mentega—memberi hasil yang besar. Dan apa jua makanan yang pernah menyuburkan diri pada saat kelahiran, pemberiannya itulah dianggap sedekah yang tertinggi.

Word by Word

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी (locative of time)

• दुग्धदानम्: gift of milk
• दुग्धदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुग्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (milk-gift)

• दधि: curd
• दधि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तक्रम्: buttermilk
• तक्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• महाफलम्: of great fruit (highly meritorious)
• महाफलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• जन्मकाले: at the time of birth
• जन्मकाले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• बद्धः: bound
• बद्धः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे विशेषण

• पिण्डः: the body/embryo-mass
• पिण्डः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• दानम्: gift, donation
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent, best
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor offers milk, curd, and buttermilk to pilgrims during monsoon; a symbolic inset shows a mother nursing an infant, indicating ‘birth-time sustenance’ as the model for highest charity.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seasonal giving aligned with sacred time (Cāturmāsya) multiplies merit; nourishing gifts are especially exalted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within a tīrtha-māhātmya setting, but the instruction is primarily about Cāturmāsya dāna rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Donate milk, curd, and buttermilk during Cāturmāsya; offer nourishing substances as a superior form of dāna.