Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

दीनांधकृपणेभ्यश्च दानं कार्पटिकेषु च । वृषभस्तत्र दातव्यः प्रवृत्ते क्रूरकर्मणि । उपवासं ततः कुर्यात्तस्मिन्नहनि भामिनि

Transliteration

dīnāṃdhakṛpaṇebhyaśca dānaṃ kārpaṭikeṣu ca | vṛṣabhastatra dātavyaḥ pravṛtte krūrakarmaṇi | upavāsaṃ tataḥ kuryāttasminnahani bhāmini

Translation

Hãy bố thí cho người nghèo, người mù và kẻ khốn cùng, cũng như cho những du sĩ khất thực thiếu thốn. Tại nơi ấy, khi các hành vi tàn bạo nổi lên, nên hiến tặng một con bò đực. Rồi sau đó, hỡi người đẹp, hãy giữ trai giới (nhịn ăn) trong ngày ấy.

Word by Word

• dīnāndhakṛpaṇebhyaḥ: from/for the poor, the blind, and the destitute
• dīnāndhakṛpaṇebhyaḥ: Apādāna (Source/Reference)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīna (दीन) + andha (अन्ध) + kṛpaṇa (कृपण)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (दीनाः अन्धाः कृपणाः); पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान/हेतौ), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक

• dānam: gift/charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (दान प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (क्रियायाः कर्मरूपेण)

• kārpaṭikeṣu: among beggars/poor folk
• kārpaṭikeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārpaṭika (कार्पटिक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक

• vṛṣabhaḥ: a bull
• vṛṣabhaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (वृषभ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb) — 'there'

• dātavyaḥ: should be given
• dātavyaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (दा धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligative), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'to be given/should be given'

• pravṛtte: when (it is) in progress/when engaged
• pravṛtte: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-vṛt (प्रवृत् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) 'engaged/ongoing'; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (क्रूरकर्मणि विशेषण)

• krūrakarmaṇi: in cruel acts/when cruel action is underway
• krūrakarmaṇi: Adhikaraṇa (Condition/Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krūra (क्रूर) + karman (कर्मन्)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (क्रूरं कर्म); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• upavāsam: fasting
• upavāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upavāsa (उपवास प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण — 'then/thereafter'

• kuryāt: should do/undertake
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tasmin: on that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (अहनि इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• ahani: day
• ahani: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (अहन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• bhāmini: O lovely lady
• bhāmini: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāminī (भामिनी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced); addressee within verse: Bhāminī (a lady, likely Devī in the ongoing dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Someśvara/Somnātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhāminī (addressed as ‘O fair lady’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa, pilgrims approach the Someśvara shrine; a donor offers food and cloth to the poor and blind, and presents a decorated bull as vṛṣabha-dāna; the devotee then undertakes a solemn fast.

Characters & Entities

• Dīnas (poor)
• Andhas (blind)
• Kṛpaṇas (destitute)
• Kārpaṭikas (rag-clad mendicants/very poor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage merit is perfected through compassion—supporting the vulnerable, making significant gifts, and practicing self-restraint via fasting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where dāna and upavāsa are highlighted as tīrtha-enhancing disciplines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give charity to the poor/blind/destitute and needy mendicants; perform vṛṣabha-dāna; observe upavāsa (fasting) that day.