Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

अत्र तीर्थे सुतोऽभ्येत्य स्नात्वा तोयं प्रदास्यति । श्राद्धं वा पिण्डदानं वा तेन यास्याम सद्गतिम्

Transliteration

atra tīrthe suto'bhyetya snātvā toyaṃ pradāsyati | śrāddhaṃ vā piṇḍadānaṃ vā tena yāsyāma sadgatim

Translation

«في هذا التيرثا المقدّس سيأتي ابنُنا؛ فإذا اغتسل قدّم ماءَ الإراقة. سواء أقام شرادها (śrāddha) أو قدّم قرابين البِنْدا (piṇḍa)، فبذلك ننال المصير الحسن.»

Word by Word

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सुतः: son
• सुतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभ्येत्य: having come/approached
• अभ्येत्य: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभि-इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable) — ‘having come/approached’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive), अव्ययभाव — ‘having bathed’

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रदास्यति: will offer/give
• प्रदास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle ‘or’)

• पिण्डदानम्: offering of piṇḍas (rice-balls)
• पिण्डदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); पिण्डस्य दानम् (offering of rice-balls)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• तेन: by that / through that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masc/Neut), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• यास्याम: we shall go/attain
• यास्याम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• सद्गतिम्: good state/destination
• सद्गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक) + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); सत्-गति = शुभा गति (good destination)

Speaker

Narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa (traditional attribution: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing ṛṣis; voiced as the Pitṛs’ expectation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A son arrives at a river ford, bathes, then offers arghya/tarpaṇa; nearby, subtle pitṛs brighten and rise, indicating ‘sadgati’ as the rite is performed.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Snāna
• Toya (water offering)
• Śrāddha
• Piṇḍadāna
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and ancestral rites at a tīrtha are portrayed as direct means to uplift one’s forebears to a better posthumous state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha referenced as ‘atra tīrthe’ in Revā-khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 146.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Come to the tīrtha, bathe, offer water (tarpaṇa), and perform śrāddha and/or piṇḍadāna.