Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

इक्ष्वाकुसंभवो राजा चाणक्यो नाम धार्मिकः । द्वादशाहे मृतस्यास्य तर्पितावशनादिना

Transliteration

ikṣvākusaṃbhavo rājā cāṇakyo nāma dhārmikaḥ | dvādaśāhe mṛtasyāsya tarpitāvaśanādinā

Translation

„Ein rechtschaffener König namens Cāṇakya, aus dem Geschlecht Ikṣvākus; während des zwölftägigen Totenritus hat er uns mit Speise und anderen Gaben gesättigt.“

Word by Word

• इक्ष्वाकु-सम्भवः: descended from Ikṣvāku
• इक्ष्वाकु-सम्भवः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इक्ष्वाकु (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (इक्ष्वाकॊः सम्भवः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘born in the Ikṣvāku line’

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• चाणक्यः: Cāṇakya
• चाणक्यः: Karta (Subject/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाणक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (व्यक्तिनाम)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, संज्ञासूचक-निपात (quotative: ‘by name’)

• धार्मिकः: righteous
• धार्मिकः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धार्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘righteous’

• द्वादशाहे: on the twelfth day
• द्वादशाहे: Adhikarana (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (द्वादश + अह), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; ‘on the twelfth-day rite’

• मृतस्य: of the deceased
• मृतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; मृ + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of the deceased’

• अस्य: of him/this one
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; ‘of this (person)’

• तर्पितौ: were satisfied
• तर्पितौ: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘satiated/propitiated’ (two beings)

• अशन-आदिना: with food and the like
• अशन-आदिना: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशन (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (अशनम् आदि यस्य/अशनादि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘by food etc.’

Speaker

Rājā (the king) / formula to be reported

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha-context (Revākhaṇḍa)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dharmic Ikṣvāku-line king performs dvādaśāha rites; offerings of food reach crows as ritual recipients, implying pitṛs’ satisfaction.

Characters & Entities

• Ikṣvāku
• Cāṇakya (king)
• Dvādāśāha
• Tarpana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and post-death rites, performed with dharma, tangibly “satisfy” recipients and generate merit that reaches subtle realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

While not naming a terrestrial site in this verse, the Revā Khaṇḍa setting frames these rites within the larger tīrtha-mahātmyam tradition of the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The dvādāśāha (twelve-day observance after death) with tarpana/feeding—“food and the like” (aśanādi).