Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

कृत्वा स्नानं विधानेन पूजयित्वा च तं नृप । पिण्डनिर्वपणं कुर्यात्तस्य पुण्यफलं शृणु

Transliteration

kṛtvā snānaṃ vidhānena pūjayitvā ca taṃ nṛpa | piṇḍanirvapaṇaṃ kuryāttasya puṇyaphalaṃ śṛṇu

Translation

يا أيها الملك، بعد أن يُؤدَّى الاغتسال على وفق الشريعة ويُعبَد هو، فليُقدَّم قُرْصُ القربان «پِنْدَا»؛ واسمع الآن ثمرة هذا العمل من البرّ.

Word by Word

• कृत्वा: having performed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having done’

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• विधानेन: according to the prescribed method
• विधानेन: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• पूजयित्वा: having worshipped
• पूजयित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु) → पूजयित्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having worshipped’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• तम्: him/that (deity)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• पिण्डनिर्वपणम्: the offering of piṇḍas (funeral rice-balls)
• पिण्डनिर्वपणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + निर्वपण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पिण्डस्य निर्वपणम् = offering of rice-balls)

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तस्य: of that (act/rite)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• पुण्यफलम्: the meritorious result
• पुण्यफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पुण्यस्य फलम्)

• शृणु: hear
• शृणु: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as nṛpa suggests a narrator speaking to the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kusumeśvara-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritualist completes prescribed bathing and worship, then places rice-balls (piṇḍas) on kuśa grass near the riverbank, with offerings arranged neatly; the king-listener is implied in the narrative frame.

Characters & Entities

• Nṛpa (King—Yudhiṣṭhira, implied)
• Piṇḍa (ancestral offering)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rituals gain fullness when performed in proper order—rule-based bathing, worship, and then ancestral offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kusumeśa-tīrtha, within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s praise of Narmadā-region sacred places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

After prescribed snāna and worship, perform piṇḍa-nirvapaṇa (piṇḍa offerings for ancestors).