Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

पुनरागत्य स्थानेऽस्मिन्दत्ता ग्रामास्त्रयोदश । काश्यप्यां चैव गंगायां महादानानि षोडश

Transliteration

punarāgatya sthāne'smindattā grāmāstrayodaśa | kāśyapyāṃ caiva gaṃgāyāṃ mahādānāni ṣoḍaśa

Translation

پھر اسی مقام پر لوٹ کر تیرہ گاؤں عطیہ کیے گئے؛ اور کاشیپی اور گنگا کے کنارے سولہ مہادان ادا کیے گئے۔

Word by Word

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरिति क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb: again)

• āgatya: having returned
• āgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√gam (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यपन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘आगत्य’ = having come/returning

• sthāne: in the place
• sthāne: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dattāḥ: were given
• dattāḥ: Karmaṇi-bhāva (Predicate participle/कर्मणि भावः)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• grāmāḥ: villages
• grāmāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• trayodaśa: thirteen
• trayodaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trayodaśan (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; द्विगुसमासः (त्रयः + दश); अव्ययवत्/अविकारी संख्याशब्दः; ‘ग्रामाः’ इति विशेषणम्

• kāśyapyām: at Kāśyapī
• kāśyapyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśyapī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction: and)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed/only)

• gaṅgāyām: in/at the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• mahādānāni: great gifts/donations
• mahādānāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (महद् दानम्)

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśan (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अविकारी; ‘महादानानि’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (and Kāśyapī as named locality)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor-king returns to a sanctified spot; scribes and priests record grants of thirteen villages; on the riverbank of Gaṅgā, sixteen mahādānas are ceremonially offered with water-libations and Vedic chanting.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Kāśyapī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity performed in sacred places—especially associated with the Gaṅgā—becomes a powerful vehicle of dharma and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā is explicitly invoked as a sacred locus for mahādāna; Kāśyapī is also named as a place of religious gifting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of mahādānas (sixteen great gifts) and grāma-dāna (donation of villages).