Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यद्दीयते द्वादशिवासरे शुभे विष्णुं समुद्दिश्य तथा पितॄणाम् । पर्य्याप्तमिष्ठैः क्रतुतीर्थदानैर्भक्त्या प्रदत्तं खलु मेरुतुल्यम्

Transliteration

yaddīyate dvādaśivāsare śubhe viṣṇuṃ samuddiśya tathā pitṝṇām | paryyāptamiṣṭhaiḥ kratutīrthadānairbhaktyā pradattaṃ khalu merutulyam

Translation

凡在吉祥的十二日（Dvādaśī）所施之供养，若以之奉献于毗湿奴（Viṣṇu），并同样回向于祖灵（Pitṛs）——以虔敬（bhakti）而施——其功德实与须弥山（Meru）等量，且足以超越祭祀、大仪、朝圣圣地与诸般法施之果。

Word by Word

• yat: whatever (that which)
• yat: Karma (Object; relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun; here correlating with pradattam)

• dīyate: is given
• dīyate: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• dvādaśi-vāsare: on the Dvādaśī day
• dvādaśi-vāsare: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśī (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (on the day of Dvādaśī)

• śubhe: auspicious
• śubhe: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; dvādaśivāsare इति विशेषण

• viṣṇum: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇum: Karma (Object of samuddiśya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• samuddiśya: having dedicated/aimed (towards)
• samuddiśya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ud + √diś (धातु) + य (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यबन्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/उपमान-अव्यय (adverb/particle: likewise)

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive; intended for)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• paryyāptam: fully sufficient
• paryyāptam: Visheshana (Qualifier of pradattam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paryāpta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘sufficient/complete’

• iṣṭhaiḥ: with offerings
• iṣṭhaiḥ: Karana (Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: iṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (offerings/desired rites)

• kratu-tīrtha-dānaiḥ: with sacrifices, pilgrimages, and donations
• kratu-tīrtha-dānaiḥ: Karana (Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (sacrifices, pilgrimages, and gifts)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Means/manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• pradattam: given (offered)
• pradattam: Karma (That which is given; predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + √dā (धातु) + क्त (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कृदन्तः—भूतकर्मणि क्त (given)

• khalu: indeed
• khalu: Discourse marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khalu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• meru-tulyam: equal to Mount Meru (immensely great)
• meru-tulyam: Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक) + tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (equal to Meru)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (context of Dvādaśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Dvādaśī charity scene in Dvārakā: devotees offering gifts to brāhmaṇas and the needy before a Viṣṇu shrine; Mount Meru symbolized as a golden heap behind, indicating ‘Meru-like’ merit.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Pitṛs
• Dvādaśī
• Meru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional charity (dāna) offered on Dvādaśī with dedication to Viṣṇu and the ancestors becomes extraordinarily weighty in merit—comparable to Mount Meru—showing bhakti as the multiplier of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs in the Dvārakā-māhātmya within the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa, situating the teaching within the sacred landscape of Dvārakā and its pilgrimage ethos, even though the shloka itself names no single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It prescribes giving dāna on the auspicious Dvādaśī day, explicitly dedicating the offering to Lord Viṣṇu and also to the Pitṛs (ancestral rite-intention), emphasizing bhakti as essential to the act.