Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

मया इष्टं मखैश्चित्रैरनेकैर्भूरिदक्षिणैः । दानानि च विचित्राणि येषां संख्या न विद्यते

Transliteration

mayā iṣṭaṃ makhaiścitrairanekairbhūridakṣiṇaiḥ | dānāni ca vicitrāṇi yeṣāṃ saṃkhyā na vidyate

Translation

“เราประกอบยัญพิธีอันวิจิตรยิ่งมากมาย พร้อมทักษิณาอันอุดม; และได้ถวายทานนานาประการ—จนมิอาจนับจำนวนได้”

Word by Word

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• इष्टम्: (I) have performed sacrifice
• इष्टम्: Kriya (Performed act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yaj (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि: 'sacrificed/performed (worship)'

• मखैः: with sacrifices
• मखैः: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• चित्रैः: varied/wondrous
• चित्रैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying मखैः)

• अनेकैः: many
• अनेकैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• भूरिदक्षिणैः: with abundant fees (dakṣiṇā)
• भूरिदक्षिणैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhūri-dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्; कर्मधारयः (bhūri = abundant + dakṣiṇā = sacrificial fee)

• दानानि: gifts/charities
• दानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• विचित्राणि: various
• विचित्राणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying दानानि)

• येषाम्: of which
• येषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (of which/of whom)

• संख्या: number/count
• संख्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/सत्तायाम्: 'exists/is found'

Speaker

King (implied first-person voice continuing the narrative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king recounts grand sacrifices: fire altars, priests receiving dakṣiṇā, heaps of gifts—cows, gold, cloth—arrayed ceremonially; the tone is declarative, preparing a moral pivot.

Characters & Entities

• dakṣiṇā
• makha (yajña)
• dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual worship gains fullness when accompanied by generous giving; dakṣiṇā and dāna are integral to dhārmic sacrifice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is specified in this verse; it supports the broader tīrthamāhātmya narrative by emphasizing merit-making acts.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of multiple yajñas (makhas) with abundant dakṣiṇā, along with extensive charitable donations (dāna).