Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यद्ददाति फलं काशी सेविता कल्पसंख्यया । कला ददाति मथुरा वासरेणापि तत्फलम्

Transliteration

yaddadāti phalaṃ kāśī sevitā kalpasaṃkhyayā | kalā dadāti mathurā vāsareṇāpi tatphalam

Translation

ਜੋ ਫਲ ਕਾਸ਼ੀ ਕਲਪਾਂ ਦੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਤੱਕ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਨ ਨਾਲ ਦਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ, ਉਹੀ ਫਲ ਮਥੁਰਾ ਇਕ ਕਲਾ ਵਿੱਚ—ਹਾਂ, ਇਕ ਦਿਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੀ—ਬਖ਼ਸ਼ ਦਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that (amount)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम; 'which (that)'

• ददाति: gives
• ददाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• काशी: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नगरनाम

• सेविता: served/visited
• सेविता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सेव् (धातु) + सेवित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; काशी-विशेषणम्; 'served/visited'

• कल्पसंख्यया: by a count of kalpas (for kalpa-number of times)
• कल्पसंख्यया: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्पानां संख्या)

• कला: a small fraction/part (kalā)
• कला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ददाति: gives
• ददाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मथुरा: Mathurā
• मथुरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नगरनाम

• वासरेण: by (one) day
• वासरेण: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: 'even')

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mathurā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A poetic tableau of two sacred cities weighed on a cosmic scale: Kāśī with kalpa-long lamps and ghāṭas, and Mathurā with a single day’s sunrise over Yamunā yielding equal radiance; sages record the comparison on palm-leaf manuscripts.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Mathurā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic māhātmyas teach that certain kṣetras concentrate spiritual potency, making liberation-oriented merit accessible even quickly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mathurā is exalted, with Kāśī used as a revered benchmark for comparison.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sevā (devotional visiting/reverence) of Kāśī and Mathurā is implied; the verse highlights differing intensities of resulting phala.