Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

तर्पणं तिलमिश्रेण जलेन द्विजसत्तमाः । गयाश्राद्धसमा तुष्टिः पितॄणां च भविष्यति

Transliteration

tarpaṇaṃ tilamiśreṇa jalena dvijasattamāḥ | gayāśrāddhasamā tuṣṭiḥ pitṝṇāṃ ca bhaviṣyati

Translation

يا خيرَ الثنائيّ الولادة، إذا قُدِّم هنا تَرْبَنَة (tarpaṇa) بماءٍ ممزوجٍ بالسمسم، تحقّق رضى الأسلاف، مساوياً لرضاهم من شرادها (śrāddha) المشهورة في غايا (Gayā).

Word by Word

• तर्पणम्: libation, offering (tarpaṇa)
• तर्पणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय-रूपे (topic)

• तिलमिश्रेण: mixed with sesame
• तिलमिश्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिल + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण (mixed with sesame)

• जलेन: with water
• जलेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; साधन (by means of water)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (addressed)

• गया: Gaya (sacred place)
• गया: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रातिपदिक-रूपे (पूर्वपद); समासाङ्ग (as first member)

• श्राद्ध: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्ध: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रातिपदिक-रूपे (उत्तरपद-पूर्व); समासाङ्ग

• समा: equal to
• समा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (equal to)

• तुष्टिः: satisfaction, contentment
• तुष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृ/फल (result)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of the ancestors)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• भविष्यति: will be, will occur
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrative voice within the Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mūlasthāna (Devikā-taṭa) pitṛ-tīrtha efficacy

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed as ‘best of twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet riverbank, a dvija performs tarpaṇa: kneeling, pouring sesame-mixed water through the hand while reciting pitṛ names; subtle ancestral figures appear satisfied; a symbolic comparison to Gayā is hinted by a distant imagined Gayā-viṣṇupada motif or a small inset panel.

Characters & Entities

• Tarpaṇa
• Tila
• Pitṛ
• Gayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-dharma performed at a powerful tīrtha can yield extraordinary ancestral benefit, comparable to famed pilgrimage rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devikā-taṭa/Mūlasthāna tīrtha region in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, praised as granting Gayā-like fruit for pitṛ rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tarpaṇa using water mixed with sesame seeds (tila-jala) for the ancestors.