Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तर्पयित्वा पितॄन् देवान् स्नात्वा तद्गतमानसः । जपेद्द्वादशनामानि देवस्य पुरतः स्थितः

Transliteration

tarpayitvā pitṝn devān snātvā tadgatamānasaḥ | japeddvādaśanāmāni devasya purataḥ sthitaḥ

Translation

Nachdem man den Ahnen und den Devas Tarpaṇa dargebracht und gebadet hat, den Geist in jener Hingabe gesammelt, soll man, vor der Gottheit stehend, die zwölf Namen des Gottes rezitieren.

Word by Word

• तर्पयित्वा: having satisfied (offered libations to)
• तर्पयित्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्यय (causative) + क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); तर्पयित्वा = तर्पय (caus.) + इत्वा

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• देवान्: the gods
• देवान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकाल (having bathed)

• तद्गतमानसः: with mind fixed on that (deity/place)
• तद्गतमानसः: Karta (Qualified subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् + गत + मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः (तस्मिन् गतं मानसं यस्य) — उपपद-तत्पुरुष/बहुव्रीह्यर्थक प्रयोग

• जपेत्: should recite
• जपेत्: Kriya (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• द्वादशनामानि: twelve names
• द्वादशनामानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (द्वादश नामानि)

• देवस्य: of the deity
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पुरतः: in front (of)
• पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक; ‘in front of’)

• स्थितः: standing
• स्थितः: Karta (Qualified subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on the ghāṭa: the devotee offers water with cupped hands (tarpaṇa) toward the river, then stands before the shrine, counting japa on fingers or mālā, eyes fixed on the deity.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Devas
• Viṣṇu (implied by following verses on Keśava etc.)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity of conduct (snāna) and gratitude to pitṛs and devas (tarpana) prepare one for effective nāma-japa before the Deity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā Khaṇḍa context relates to the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape; this verse presents a general ritual sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpana and deva-tarpana, followed by bathing, then japa of the twelve divine names before the deity.