Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 124

Devanagari script

लिंगाच्च पूर्वतः कूपेस्नात्वा यस्तर्पयेत्पितॄन् । सर्वतीर्थफलावाप्तिः पितॄणां चाक्षया गतिः

Transliteration

liṃgācca pūrvataḥ kūpesnātvā yastarpayetpitṝn | sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ pitṝṇāṃ cākṣayā gatiḥ

Translation

من اغتسل في البئر الكائن شرق اللِنْغَا ثم قدّم للآباء (الپِتْرِ) تَرْپَنَة (سكب الماء قربانًا)، نال ثمر جميع التيِرثات؛ وللپِتْرِ تنشأ حالةُ مآلٍ لا يفنى.

Word by Word

• liṃgāt: from the liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṃgāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• pūrvataḥ: to the east; in front
• pūrvataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: दिक्/देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb): ‘to the east/in front’

• kūpe: in the well
• kūpe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having bathed’

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; relative

• tarpayet: should offer libations; should satisfy
• tarpayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṛp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative sense in usage: ‘should satisfy/offer libations’

• pitṝn: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ: attainment of the fruits of all tīrthas
• sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + āvāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative chain), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘all-pilgrimage-fruit-attainment’

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• akṣayā: imperishable
• akṣayā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘imperishable’ (qualifying gatiḥ)

• gatiḥ: state; course; destination
• gatiḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pūrvato-liṅga-kūpa (the well east of the liṅga)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn near a stone-lined well east of a liṅga shrine, a devotee emerges from snāna and offers tarpaṇa with cupped hands; subtle presence of pitṛs receiving the libations; the shrine’s liṅga visible behind.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Liṅga
• Pitṛs
• Kūpa (sacred well)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-kṣetras sanctify both the living and the departed: devotion joined with Pitṛ rites yields comprehensive merit and lasting good for ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred well (kūpa) situated east of the Liṅga at the described shrine is glorified as tīrtha-equivalent.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe in the eastern well and perform pitṛ-tarpaṇa to gain sarva-tīrtha fruit and akṣaya gati for the ancestors.