Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

दत्तं चेद्वेदविदुषे तदनंतगुणं भवेत् । रामतीर्थं समुद्दिश्य वक्ष्यामि मुनिपुंगवाः

Transliteration

dattaṃ cedvedaviduṣe tadanaṃtaguṇaṃ bhavet | rāmatīrthaṃ samuddiśya vakṣyāmi munipuṃgavāḥ

Translation

หากถวายทานแก่ผู้รู้พระเวทแล้ว บุญกุศลนั้นย่อมทวีเป็นอนันต์ โอ้เหล่ามุนีผู้ประเสริฐ บัดนี้เราจักกล่าวโดยอ้างถึงรามตีรถะ

Word by Word

• दत्तम्: (if something is) given
• दत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावे ‘given’

• चेत्: if
• चेत्: Connector (Condition/शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत् (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional particle ‘if’)

• वेदविदुषे: to a knower of the Veda
• वेदविदुषे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदविद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘वेदं वेत्ति’ (knower of the Veda)

• तत्: that (gift)
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अनन्तगुणम्: of infinite merit
• अनन्तगुणम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्त-गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: ‘अनन्ताः गुणाः यस्य/यत्र’ (of infinite merit); विशेषणम् (तत्)

• भवेत्: would be/become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• रामतीर्थम्: Rāma’s sacred ford/place
• रामतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘रामस्य तीर्थम्’

• समुद्दिश्य: having in view/with reference to
• समुद्दिश्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्√दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/क्त्वा), उपसर्ग-समुद्; अर्थः ‘उद्दिश्य/लक्ष्यीकृत्य’ (having in view/aiming at)

• वक्ष्यामि: I shall tell
• वक्ष्यामि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/लृट्), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मुनिपुङ्गवाः: O best of sages
• मुनिपुङ्गवाः: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative-like address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि-पुङ्गव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘मुनीनां पुङ्गवाः’ (bulls among sages)

Speaker

Sūta (contextual continuation of narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāma-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munipuṅgavas / ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage addresses other sages, gesturing toward a sacred route; a pilgrim offers cloth/coins/grain to a Veda-knower near a tīrtha; the scene foreshadows the forthcoming description of Rāma-tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna becomes extraordinarily meritorious when offered to worthy recipients, and tīrtha-context further elevates religious acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāma-tīrtha is introduced as the focus of the forthcoming māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give dāna to a vedavid (Veda-knower); the text frames the teaching within Rāma-tīrtha’s sacred setting.