Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

यत्पुण्यं कपिलादाने कार्तिक्यां ज्येष्ठपुष्करे । तत्फलं लभते मर्त्त्यो हृषीकेशस्य दर्शनात्

Transliteration

yatpuṇyaṃ kapilādāne kārtikyāṃ jyeṣṭhapuṣkare | tatphalaṃ labhate marttyo hṛṣīkeśasya darśanāt

Translation

کارتک کے مہینے میں جیشٹھ پشکر پر کپلا گائے کا دان دینے سے جو پُنّیہ ملتا ہے، وہی پھل فانی انسان محض ہریشیکیش کے درشن سے پا لیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kapilā-dāne: in the gift of a tawny cow
• kapilā-dāne: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कपिलायाः दाने)

• kārtikyām: in Kārtika (month)
• kārtikyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (month/season context)

• jyeṣṭha-puṣkare: at Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara
• jyeṣṭha-puṣkare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ज्येष्ठे पुṣ्करे / ‘Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara’ as a tīrtha-name)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

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

• labhate: obtains
• labhate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• marttyaḥ: a mortal
• marttyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hṛṣīkeśasya: of Hṛṣīkeśa
• hṛṣīkeśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛṣīkeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• darśanāt: from seeing (darśana)
• darśanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unnamed Purāṇic narrator (contextual speaker within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hṛṣīkeśa-tīrtha (Arbuda)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: a king (nṛpa-sattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim stands before a serene image of Viṣṇu as Hṛṣīkeśa; in the background, symbolic vignettes show a tawny cow being gifted at Puṣkara in Kārtika, visually contrasted with the simplicity of darśana.

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa
• Kārtika
• Kapilā-dāna
• Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sight (darśana) of the Lord at a powerful site can equal major charitable rites, highlighting grace over mere transaction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hṛṣīkeśa (primary), with Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara cited as a benchmark tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kapilā-dāna in Kārtika at Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara is referenced; the verse elevates Hṛṣīkeśa-darśana as yielding equivalent fruit.