Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः । पितरस्तस्य तृप्यन्ति पिण्डदानाद्दशाब्दिकम्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ | pitarastasya tṛpyanti piṇḍadānāddaśābdikam

Translation

مَن اغتسل في ذلك المَعبر المقدّس ثم قدّم تَرْبَنَة (tarpaṇa) لآلهة الأسلاف «الپِتْرِ» (Pitṛ)، رضِيَتْ عنه أرواحُ أجداده كأنّه قدّم قرابينَ پِنْدَة (piṇḍa) عشرَ سنين.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — indeclinable adverb of place

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

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/समुच्चय-व्यतिरेकसूचक) — particle ‘but/indeed’

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative singular (relative pronoun)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (पूर्वकाल) — gerund/absolutive: ‘having bathed’

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy/offer libations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — Optative, 3rd person singular, Parasmaipada

• पितृदेवताः: the deities of the Pitṛs (ancestral deities)
• पितृदेवताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Feminine, Accusative plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां देवताः)

• पितरः: the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative plural

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular (of him)

• तृप्यन्ति: are satisfied
• तृप्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present, 3rd person plural, Atmanepada

• पिण्डदानात्: from the offering of rice-balls (piṇḍa-offering)
• पिण्डदानात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — Neuter, Ablative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पिण्डस्य दानम्)

• दशाब्दिकम्: for ten years (ten-year duration)
• दशाब्दिकम्: Karma (Extent/measure as object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश + अब्दिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative singular; द्विगु-समासः (दश अब्दाः यस्य/यावत्)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā tīrtha (unspecified ford)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a calm river-ford of the Narmadā, having bathed, stands facing south offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands; subtle ancestral figures appear satisfied in the background, with riverbank trees and a small shrine nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Pitṛ-devatāḥ
• Piṇḍa-dāna
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage bathing joined with ancestral offerings integrates personal purity with gratitude to lineage, yielding amplified merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘tatra tīrtha’—the Revā Khaṇḍa holy bathing place associated with Māṇḍavyeśvara/Nārāyaṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bath) followed by tarpaṇa to Pitṛs; the fruit is compared to ten years of piṇḍa-dāna.