Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

पितृभ्यः पिण्डदानं च कुर्यादस्माहके नृप । त्रिपुष्करे गयायां च प्रभासे नैमिषे तथा

Transliteration

pitṛbhyaḥ piṇḍadānaṃ ca kuryādasmāhake nṛpa | tripuṣkare gayāyāṃ ca prabhāse naimiṣe tathā

Translation

হে নৃপতি, অসমাহকত পিতৃলোকলৈ পিণ্ডদান কৰা উচিত—ইয়াৰ পুণ্য ত্ৰিপুষ্কৰ, গয়া, প্ৰভাস আৰু নৈমিষত কৰা দানৰ সমান।

Word by Word

• पितृभ्यः: to the ancestors
• पितृभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी/पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (4th/5th; Dative/Ablative); बहुवचन; दान-प्रयोजन (to the ancestors)

• पिण्डदानम्: offering of rice-balls
• पिण्डदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पिण्डस्य दानम्)

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

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कुर्यात्
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्माहके: in our (place/occasion)
• अस्माहके: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्माहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; ‘अस्माकं सम्बन्धि’ (belonging to us/our); अधिकरण-विशेषण (in our [tīrtha/occasion])

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative); एकवचन

• त्रिपुष्करे: at Tripuṣkara
• त्रिपुष्करे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (त्रयः पुष्कराः/त्रिपुष्कर-तीर्थनाम); अधिकरण

• गयायाम्: at Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; तीर्थनाम; अधिकरण

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

• प्रभासे: at Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; तीर्थनाम; अधिकरण

• नैमिषे: at Naimiṣa
• नैमिषे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; तीर्थनाम; अधिकरण

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (likewise/also)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; direct address to king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Asmāhaka

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A kingly pilgrim and priests on a riverbank preparing piṇḍas (rice balls) with sesame and ghee; offerings placed on darbha/kuśa; invocation of pitṛs; distant markers symbolizing Gayā, Puṣkara, Prabhāsa, Naimiṣa as comparable holy fields.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Asmāhaka
• Tripuṣkara
• Gayā
• Prabhāsa
• Naimiṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa elevates a local tīrtha by equating its śrāddha merit with India’s most renowned ancestral sites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Asmāhaka tīrtha (within the Revā Khaṇḍa context), praised alongside Tripuṣkara, Gayā, Prabhāsa, and Naimiṣa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍadāna to the pitṛs (ancestral rice-ball offerings) at the tīrtha.