Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

गवां शतसहस्रैस्तु दत्तैर्यत्कुरुजांगले । पुण्यं भवति देवेशि तद्गोप्यादित्यदर्शने

Transliteration

gavāṃ śatasahasraistu dattairyatkurujāṃgale | puṇyaṃ bhavati deveśi tadgopyādityadarśane

Translation

اے دیویِ ربّ، کُرُوجانگل میں ایک لاکھ گایوں کے دان سے جو پُنّیہ حاصل ہوتا ہے، وہی پُنّیہ گوپیادتیہ کے محض درشن سے مل جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• gavām: of cows
• gavām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• śata-sahasraiḥ: with hundreds and thousands (i.e., by hundreds of thousands)
• śata-sahasraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• dattaiḥ: by (things) given; by gifts
• dattaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धाातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय) → datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

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

• kuru-jāṅgale: in Kurujāṅgala (region)
• kuru-jāṅgale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + jāṅgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhavati: arises/is
• bhavati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• deveśi: O Lady of the gods
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that (merit)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); तद्-निर्देश (correlative)

• gopya-āditya-darśane: at the sight of Gopya-Āditya
• gopya-āditya-darśane: Adhikarana (Location/occasion/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopya (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopyāditya

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as deveśi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary comparison tableau: on one side, Kurujāṅgala with vast cow-gifting—lines of cows, donors, priests; on the other, a pilgrim simply beholding the sacred Gopyāditya spot at Prabhāsa, receiving the same luminous merit.

Characters & Entities

• Gopyāditya
• Kurujāṅgala
• Go-dāna (cow-gift)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-darśana can grant immense merit, sometimes equated with large-scale charity, when approached with reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gopyāditya’s sacred presence within Prabhāsa Kṣetra is praised as highly merit-giving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A merit comparison is made with go-dāna (donation of cows); the emphasized act here is darśana (seeing the deity/site).