Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा तु कपिलातीर्थे कपिलां यः प्रयच्छति । श्रुत्वा चाख्यानकं दिव्यं ब्राह्मणाञ्छृणु यत्फलम्

Transliteration

snātvā tu kapilātīrthe kapilāṃ yaḥ prayacchati | śrutvā cākhyānakaṃ divyaṃ brāhmaṇāñchṛṇu yatphalam

Translation

ผู้ใดอาบน้ำชำระที่กปิลาทีรถะ แล้วถวายทานโคกปิลา (โคสีน้ำตาลทอง) และยังได้สดับเรื่องราวทิพย์นี้ด้วย—โอ พราหมณ์ทั้งหลาย จงฟังผลบุญที่บังเกิดจากนั้นเถิด

Word by Word

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययभाव कृदन्त (gerund/क्त्वा), ‘having bathed’

• tu: then/indeed
• tu: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• kapilā-tīrthe: at Kapilā-tīrtha
• kapilā-tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (kapilāyāḥ tīrtham); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• kapilām: a tawny cow (Kapilā)
• kapilām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• prayacchati: gives, bestows
• prayacchati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yam (यम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययभाव कृदन्त (gerund/क्त्वा), ‘having heard’

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• ākhyānakam: narrative, account
• ākhyānakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākhyānaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• divyam: divine
• divyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• brāhmaṇān: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• śṛṇu: hear, listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (यत्-तत्)

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing brāhmaṇas (explicit vocative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilātīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King; additionally addresses brāhmaṇas (‘brāhmaṇān…śṛṇu’) as the audience of the phala statement

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim completes a river bath at a ghāṭa, then ceremonially offers a tawny cow to a brāhmaṇa while a sacred storyteller recites the divine account to an attentive assembly.

Characters & Entities

• Kapilātīrtha
• Brāhmaṇas
• Kapilā (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is amplified by combining tīrtha-snāna (pilgrimage bathing), dāna (charity), and śravaṇa (hearing sacred lore).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilātīrtha, a revered bathing-place in the Revākhaṇḍa’s Narmadā sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe at Kapilātīrtha and donate a kapilā (tawny cow), along with listening to the divine narrative.