Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

किं दानैर्बहुभिर्दत्तैर्व्रतैः किं किं सुरार्चनैः । किं योगैः किं तपोभिश्च ब्रह्मचर्य्यैः सुरेश्वर

Transliteration

kiṃ dānairbahubhirdattairvrataiḥ kiṃ kiṃ surārcanaiḥ | kiṃ yogaiḥ kiṃ tapobhiśca brahmacaryyaiḥ sureśvara

Translation

ข้าแต่จอมเทพผู้เป็นใหญ่แห่งเทวะทั้งปวง การให้ทานมากมายมีประโยชน์อันใด? และการถือพรต การบูชาเทวะ การปฏิบัติโยคะ ตบะ และพรหมจรรย์ จะให้ผลอันใดเล่า?

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक (interrogative)

• दानैः: by gifts/charity
• दानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• बहुभिः: many
• बहुभिः: Karana (Qualifier/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying दानैः)

• दत्तैः: given
• दत्तैः: Karana (Qualifier/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying दानैः)

• व्रतैः: by vows/observances
• व्रतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• किम्: what indeed
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रश्न (repeated interrogative)

• सुरार्चनैः: by worship of the gods
• सुरार्चनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + अर्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: सुराणाम् अर्चनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• योगैः: by yogas/discipline
• योगैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• तपोभिः: by austerities
• तपोभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

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

• ब्रह्मचर्यैः: by celibacy/continence
• ब्रह्मचर्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: ब्रह्मणि चर्या (सप्तमी/तत्पुरुष-प्राय); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• सुरेश्वर: O lord of the gods
• सुरेश्वर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: सुराणाम् ईश्वरः; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (vocative)

Speaker

Devāṅganā (addressing Indra/Sureśvara) inferred from immediate context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sureśvara (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker addresses ‘lord of the gods’ with a cascade of rhetorical questions, while the sacred kṣetra’s aura is implied as surpassing gifts, vows, worship, yoga, austerity, and celibacy.

Characters & Entities

• Sureśvara (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is not merely in quantity of rites; Purāṇic teaching often elevates a single, well-timed, devotion-filled observance as surpassing many practices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The argument is situated within Vastrāpathakṣetra’s māhātmya, though this verse itself lists general religious acts.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

General categories are cited—dāna, vrata, worship, yoga, tapas, brahmacarya—setting up a contrast with the Śivarātri vigil described nearby.