Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

सर्वत्रैव पितः प्रोक्तं पिता तर्पणकर्मणि । पित्र्ये संकल्पकाले च पितुरक्षय्यदापने

Transliteration

sarvatraiva pitaḥ proktaṃ pitā tarpaṇakarmaṇi | pitrye saṃkalpakāle ca piturakṣayyadāpane

Translation

في كل موضع ذُكرت صيغة «pitaḥ»؛ أمّا في عمل التَّرْپَنة (tarpaṇa) فيُستعمل «pitā». وكذلك عند وقت السَّنْكَلْپَة للأجداد، وفي تقديم «أكشَيّا-دان» (العطاء غير المنقطع)، فالصيغة الصحيحة هي «pituḥ».

Word by Word

• sarvatra: everywhere
• sarvatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb of place)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• pitaḥ: of the father
• pitaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• proktam: is stated
• proktam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√vac (धातु) (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: क्तान्त-भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘said/declared’

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tarpaṇa: libation/satiation offering
• tarpaṇa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• karmaṇi: in the rite
• karmaṇi: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pitrye: in ancestral (context)
• pitrye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (pertaining to ancestors)

• saṃkalpa: intention/resolve
• saṃkalpa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• pituḥ: of the father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• akṣayya: imperishable
• akṣayya: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + kṣayya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वकः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• dāpane: in the giving of imperishable (gift)
• dāpane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāpana (प्रातिपदिक; √dā caus. ‘to cause to give’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अक्षय्यस्य दापनम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest guiding a yajamāna, pointing to a palm-leaf/ritual manual while the yajamāna pours water for tarpaṇa; highlighted words ‘pitā’ and ‘pituḥ’ appear as calligraphic cues, indicating different contexts (tarpaṇa vs saṅkalpa/dāna).

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛ (father/ancestors)
• tarpaṇa
• saṅkalpa
• akṣayya-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Precision in sacred speech (mantra and grammatical form) is part of dharma and safeguards the efficacy of pitṛ-offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a ritual-language guideline within the māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use the appropriate grammatical forms of ‘father’ depending on context: tarpaṇa, pitṛ-saṅkalpa, and akṣayya-dāna.