Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु ये केचिच्छ्राद्धं कृत्वा विधानतः । नरकादुद्धरन्त्याशु जपन्तः पितृसंहिताम्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu ye kecicchrāddhaṃ kṛtvā vidhānataḥ | narakāduddharantyāśu japantaḥ pitṛsaṃhitām

Translation

An jenem Tīrtha rettet, wer das Śrāddha nach der rechten Vorschrift vollzieht und die Pitṛ-saṃhitā rezitiert, (seine Ahnen) rasch aus der Hölle.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तीर्थे: at the tīrtha
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• कृत्वा: having performed
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive), अव्ययभाव — ‘having done’

• विधानतः: according to prescription
• विधानतः: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘according to rule/ordinance’

• नरकात्: from hell
• नरकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उद्धरन्ति: they rescue / lift out
• उद्धरन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time: quickly)

• जपन्तः: reciting
• जपन्तः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• पितृसंहिताम्: the Pitṛ-saṃhitā (ancestral litany/text)
• पितृसंहिताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + संहिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); पितॄणां संहिता (collection/text concerning ancestors)

Speaker

Narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa (traditional attribution: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing ṛṣis)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual platform at the river: performer seated with kuśa, piṇḍas arranged, water-vessel, and scripture/recitation posture; sound-waves of mantra rise as ancestors are lifted from a dark underworld into a bright ancestral realm.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Śrāddha
• Pitṛsaṃhitā
• Naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rightly performed ritual plus sacred recitation is presented as a swift means of ancestral uplift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā tīrtha referenced as ‘tatra tīrthe’ in Adhyāya 146.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha according to vidhi and recite (japa) the Pitṛ-saṃhitā.