Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एकं यो भोजयेत्तत्र ब्राह्मणं सूर्यसंनिधौ । कोटिभोज्यं कृतं तेन इत्याह भगवान्हरिः

Transliteration

ekaṃ yo bhojayettatra brāhmaṇaṃ sūryasaṃnidhau | koṭibhojyaṃ kṛtaṃ tena ityāha bhagavānhariḥ

Translation

جو وہاں سورج دیو کے حضور ایک برہمن کو بھی بھوجن کرائے، اس نے گویا کروڑوں کو کھلایا؛ یوں بھگوان ہری فرماتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• ekam: one
• ekam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ब्राह्मणम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषण

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• bhojayet: should feed
• bhojayet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु) [causative: भोजयति]
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष? (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• brāhmaṇam: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• sūrya-saṃnidhau: in the presence of the Sun
• sūrya-saṃnidhau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃnidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सूर्यस्य संनिधिः); अधिकरण

• koṭi-bhojyam: (as if) a crore meals/feeds
• koṭi-bhojyam: Karma (as implied result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojya (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-योग्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (कोट्या भोज्यम्)

• kṛtam: is (deemed) done
• kṛtam: Kriya (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + -ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—"is done/considered done"

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana/Agent-instrument (by him)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-संबन्ध

• iti: thus
• iti: Quotation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक अव्यय (quotative)

• āha: said
• āha: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेष्य (हरिः) का विशेषण/उपाधि

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

Speaker

Unspecified (citing the authority of Bhagavān Hari)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Sūrya-sannidhi within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varānanā (a goddess/Devī addressed in adjacent verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa near the sea, a pilgrim offers a meal to a seated Brāhmaṇa at sunrise; Sūrya’s disc glows above the horizon, sanctifying the act; nearby are tīrtha markers and temple silhouettes.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Brāhmaṇa
• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small act of charity, when done in a supremely sacred setting, carries vast spiritual weight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, specifically the act done in Sūrya’s presence there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feeding a Brāhmaṇa (annadāna) near/before Sūrya—said to equal feeding a crore.