Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

सूर्यग्रहे गवां कोटिं दत्त्वा यत्फलमाप्नुयात् । तत्फलं कलिकाले तु द्वारवत्यां दिनेदिने

Transliteration

sūryagrahe gavāṃ koṭiṃ dattvā yatphalamāpnuyāt | tatphalaṃ kalikāle tu dvāravatyāṃ dinedine

Translation

บุญผลใดที่พึงได้จากการถวายโคหนึ่งโกฏิในคราสสุริยะ ในกาลีกาล บุญผลนั้นย่อมสำเร็จได้ ณ ทวารวตี (ทวารกา) ทุกวันทุกคืน

Word by Word

• सूर्यग्रहे: at a solar eclipse
• सूर्यग्रहे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: सूर्यस्य ग्रहः)

• गवाम्: of cows
• गवाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कोटिम्: a crore (ten million)
• कोटिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Kriya (Adverbial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having given)

• यत्: which/whatever
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative)

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

• आप्नुयात्: would obtain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; correlative ‘that’

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Result/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कलिकाले: in the Kali age
• कलिकाले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलिकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (काल-अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कर्मधारय: कलिः एव कालः)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• द्वारवत्याम्: in Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• द्वारवत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारवती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• दिने: day
• दिने: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (in compound)

• दिने: day after day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समासः: दिने-दिने = ‘day by day’ (repetition)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Māhātmya-style narration within Skanda Purāṇa; Dvārakā Māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solar eclipse darkens the sky in one panel where a king donates countless cows; in the main panel, Dvārakā’s temple and sea shine, with ordinary devotees offering small gifts daily—showing equivalence of fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)
• Sūrya-graha (solar eclipse)
• Gau-dāna (cow donation)
• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kali-yuga, the tīrtha-mahātmyas magnify accessible devotion: the sanctity of Dvārakā grants extraordinary merit without requiring rare, difficult occasions like eclipses.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvāravatī—Dvārakā, praised as a supremely merit-giving sacred place in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gau-dāna (donation of cows), specifically the famed merit of gifting a crore of cows at a solar eclipse, is used as the benchmark for the daily merit obtainable in Dvārakā.