Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

नरकादुद्धरत्याशु पुरुषानेकविंशतिम् । तिलोदकप्रदानेन किमुत श्राद्धदो नरः

Transliteration

narakāduddharatyāśu puruṣānekaviṃśatim | tilodakapradānena kimuta śrāddhado naraḥ

Translation

Durch die Darbringung von tilodaka (Sesamwasser) erlöst ein Mensch rasch einundzwanzig Wesen aus der Hölle; wie viel mehr also schenkt Befreiung, wer śrāddha, die Ahnenriten, vollzieht!

Word by Word

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

• उद्धरति: rescues; lifts out
• उद्धरति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: quickly)

• पुरुषान्: men; persons
• पुरुषान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• एकविंशतिम्: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (qualifying पुरुषान्)

• तिलोदकप्रदानेन: by the offering of sesame-water
• तिलोदकप्रदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तिलोदकस्य प्रदानम्)

• किम्: what (need to say)
• किम्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक-निपात (interrogative particle), ‘what then?’ (किमुत इत्यत्र)

• उत: then; indeed
• उत: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प/उत्कर्षार्थक-निपात; ‘then/indeed’ (किमुत = ‘how much more’)

• श्राद्धदः: one who gives śrāddha (funeral offering)
• श्राद्धदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धं ददाति इति)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); श्राद्धदः इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the riverbank, a devotee offers tilodaka with cupped hands; nearby, a śrāddha setting with darbha, piṇḍas, and brāhmaṇas seated for bhojana; subtle imagery of souls being lifted from darkness toward light.

Characters & Entities

• tilodaka
• śrāddha
• naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-dharma is powerful: even a simple offering like tilodaka has salvific merit, and śrāddha is praised as even more efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions within a tīrtha-māhātmya context of Revā-khaṇḍa, implying these offerings are especially fruitful when done at the praised sacred ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tilodaka-pradāna (offering sesame-water) and the performance of śrāddha for ancestors.