Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तदारभ्य सुविख्यातं धर्मालयमिति । श्रुतम् ददौ दाशरथिस्तत्र महादानानि षोडश

Transliteration

tadārabhya suvikhyātaṃ dharmālayamiti | śrutam dadau dāśarathistatra mahādānāni ṣoḍaśa

Translation

นับแต่นั้นสถานที่นั้นก็เลื่องลือในนามว่า “ธรรมาลัย” ณ ที่นั้น โอรสแห่งทศรถะได้ถวายมหาทานสิบหกประการ ตามที่สืบได้ยินกันมา

Word by Word

• तद्: from that (time)
• तद्: Apadana (Source/starting point/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/आरम्भ-सीमा), एकवचन; ‘ततः’ अर्थे

• आरभ्य: starting from
• आरभ्य: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-रभ् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive) ‘आरभ्य’ = ‘आरम्भं कृत्वा/आरम्भात्’

• सुविख्यातम्: well-known
• सुविख्यातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + विख्यात (प्रातिपदिक; ख्या-धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• धर्मालयम्: (as) Dharmālaya
• धर्मालयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास

• इति: thus/so called
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक-निपात (quotative)

• श्रुतम्: was heard/was known
• श्रुतम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः

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

• दाशरथिः: the son of Daśaratha (Rāma)
• दाशरथिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाशरथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (there)

• महादानानि: great gifts/donations
• महादानानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महानि दानानि)

• षोडश: sixteen
• षोडश: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः/विशेषणम् (number)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Brāhma Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmālaya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma (Dāśarathi) at Dharmālaya presides over sixteen mahādānas: brahmins seated in rows, gifts arranged—cows, gold, cloth, vessels—under a sacred pavilion.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmālaya
• Rāma (Dāśarathi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s fame grows through acts of great charity—mahādāna performed at sacred places multiplies merit and sustains dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Dharmālaya, presented as a renowned tīrtha linked with exemplary giving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of ṣoḍaśa-mahādāna—sixteen major gifts/charities—at Dharmālaya.