Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

दानार्थं ब्राह्मणेंद्राणामसंख्याश्चापि धेनवः । तथैव वाजिनो दांता मदोन्मत्ता महागजाः

Transliteration

dānārthaṃ brāhmaṇeṃdrāṇāmasaṃkhyāścāpi dhenavaḥ | tathaiva vājino dāṃtā madonmattā mahāgajāḥ

Translation

เพื่อการถวายทานแก่พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐ มีโคจำนวนนับไม่ถ้วนอยู่ ณ ที่นั้น; อีกทั้งม้าฝึกดี และช้างใหญ่ผู้กำเริบด้วยมุสถะก็มีด้วย

Word by Word

• dāna-artham: for the purpose of giving (charity)
• dāna-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna-artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थक (for the purpose of); तत्पुरुषः (dānasya arthaḥ)

• brāhmaṇendrāṇām: of the foremost brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇendrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa-indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (brāhmaṇānām indraḥ = chief among brāhmaṇas)

• asaṃkhyāḥ: countless
• asaṃkhyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asaṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying dhenavaḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• api: also
• api: Samuccaya/Avadhāraṇa (Also/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि (also/even)

• dhenavaḥ: cows
• dhenavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (in like manner)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• vājinaḥ: horses
• vājinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vājin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• dantāḥ: tusked ones (elephants)
• dantāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dantin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (दन्तिन् = tusked; here: elephants)

• mada-unmattāḥ: maddened with rut
• mada-unmattāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mada-unmatta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying mahāgajāḥ); तत्पुरुषः (madena unmattāḥ)

• mahā-gajāḥ: great elephants
• mahā-gajāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-gaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (mahān gajaḥ)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rows of countless cows with decorated horns; nearby stand trained horses and towering rut-elephants with attendants, all assembled as offerings for donation to eminent brāhmaṇas at the yajña.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna offered in a sacred context—especially to worthy brāhmaṇas—embodies dharma and supports the fruition of ritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, yet the exact tīrtha is not named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It highlights dāna/dakṣiṇā: giving cows and other valuable gifts to eminent brāhmaṇas in connection with a yajña.