Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

तारयेत्स पितॄन्सर्वान्महानरकगानपि । श्रद्धया यः पिबेत्तोयं संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

tārayetsa pitṝnsarvānmahānarakagānapi | śraddhayā yaḥ pibettoyaṃ saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

يُنقِذُ جميعَ أسلافه، حتى الذين سقطوا في الجحيم العظيم. ومن شرب هذا الماء بإيمانٍ بعد أن أرضى وقرّب قرابينَه لآلهةِ الأسلاف (الپِتْرِ)،

Word by Word

• तारयेत्: would deliver/save
• तारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (पितॄन्)

• महानरक-गान्: (even those) going to great hells
• महानरक-गान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महानरक (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √गम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (महानरकं गच्छन्ति ये) विशेषणम् (पितॄन्)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), ‘even/also’

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• पिबेत्: would drink
• पिबेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

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

• संतर्प्य: having satisfied
• संतर्प्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having satisfied’

• पितृ-देवताः: the Pitṛ-deities (ancestors as deities)
• पितृ-देवताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (पितर एव देवताः)

Speaker

Narrator of the Dharmāraṇya-māhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ravikuṇḍa

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the kuṇḍa’s edge, a pilgrim offers tarpana with cupped hands; behind him, faint ancestral figures rise from shadowy realms toward light, suggesting release from naraka through the water-offering and sipping rite.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Mahānaraka
• Tīrtha water (toya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Care for ancestors through śraddhā and tarpaṇa is a powerful dharmic duty, believed to uplift even severely suffering Pitṛs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Ravikuṇḍa/tīrtha-water context, praising its potency for Pitṛ upliftment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (satisfying the Pitṛ-deities) and then drinking the tīrtha water with faith.