Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

स्नानमात्रेण विप्रेन्द्रा लभेद्गोदानजं फलम् । पितृणां श्राद्धदानेन वियोनिं न च गच्छति

Transliteration

snānamātreṇa viprendrā labhedgodānajaṃ phalam | pitṛṇāṃ śrāddhadānena viyoniṃ na ca gacchati

Translation

โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่พราหมณ์ เพียงอาบน้ำชำระก็ย่อมได้ผลบุญอันเกิดจากการถวายทานโค และด้วยการถวายทานศราทธะแด่ปิตฤ ย่อมไม่ตกไปสู่ครรภ์อัปมงคล

Word by Word

• स्नानमात्रेण: by mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः—स्नानस्य मात्रम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; करण (instrumental)

• विप्रेन्द्राः: O best of Brahmins
• विप्रेन्द्राः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः—विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा (vocative sense)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• गोदानजम्: born of (i.e., resulting from) cow-gift
• गोदानजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोदान (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—गोदानात् जातम् इति पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (फलम् इति)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• पितृणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• श्राद्धदानेन: by giving śrāddha-offering
• श्राद्धदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः—श्राद्धस्य दानम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; करण (instrumental)

• वियोनिम्: a bad womb/low birth
• वियोनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वियोनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• गच्छति: goes, attains
• गच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing Brāhmaṇas; tīrtha-māhātmya style instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā/Prabhāsa tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Viprendra’—best of brāhmaṇas (explicit address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims immerse in sacred waters at dawn; above them, a symbolic radiance suggests the unseen equivalence to go-dāna; nearby, śrāddha offerings are prepared for Pitṛs.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred bathing at a praised tīrtha grants extraordinary merit, and śrāddha strengthens one’s ancestral duty and protects one’s future birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Dvārakā tīrtha-region as presented in the Dvārakā Māhātmya, where even snāna is said to yield great fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at the holy place and offer śrāddha-dāna to the Pitṛs.