Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

एकं यो भोजयेत्तत्र ब्राह्मणं शंसितव्रतम् । तेनायुतसहस्रं हि भोजितं स्याद्द्विजन्मनाम्

Transliteration

ekaṃ yo bhojayettatra brāhmaṇaṃ śaṃsitavratam | tenāyutasahasraṃ hi bhojitaṃ syāddvijanmanām

Translation

ผู้ใดเลี้ยงภัตตาหารแก่พราหมณ์เพียงหนึ่ง ณ ที่นั้น ผู้ทรงวัตรอันน่าสรรเสริญ ด้วยกุศลนั้นเสมือนเลี้ยงทวิชะหมื่นคน

Word by Word

• एकम्: one (person/one item)
• एकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-शब्दः (numeral)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• भोजयेत्: should feed
• भोजयेत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त-प्रयोगः (causative: 'cause to eat/feed')

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'there')

• ब्राह्मणम्: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शंसितव्रतम्: of praised/commended vows
• शंसितव्रतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शंसित (कृदन्त; शंस् धातु, क्त) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः कर्मधारयः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ब्राह्मणम् इति विशेषणम्

• तेन: by that (act)
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; करण/हेतु-अर्थे (by that/thereby)

• अयुतसहस्रम्: a thousand tens-of-thousands (i.e., ten million)
• अयुतसहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अयुतस्य सहस्रम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (फलसंख्या)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः (emphatic/causal particle)

• भोजितम्: fed (has been fed)
• भोजितम्: Kriyā-phala (Result state/क्रियाफल)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भुज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'भोजितम्' = 'fed (as done)'

• स्यात्: would be
• स्यात्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• द्विजन्मनाम्: of the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• द्विजन्मनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; 'द्विज' (ब्राह्मणादि) इत्यर्थे

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hiraṇyā (context)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim serves a single learned Brāhmaṇa with reverence on the riverbank; behind them, a symbolic multitude of Brāhmaṇas appears as a faint visionary echo to show ‘ten thousand’ merit equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna done at a tīrtha, to a worthy recipient, becomes magnified and supports social and spiritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Hiraṇyā tīrtha context within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where charity is said to yield multiplied fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding (bhojana/annadāna) of a śaṃsita-vrata brāhmaṇa, credited with the merit of feeding ten thousand dvijas.