Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

इच्छन्ति पितरः सर्वे स्वार्थहेतोः सुतं यतः । पुन्नाम्नो नरकात्पुत्रोऽस्मानयं मोचयिष्यति

Transliteration

icchanti pitaraḥ sarve svārthahetoḥ sutaṃ yataḥ | punnāmno narakātputro'smānayaṃ mocayiṣyati

Translation

Alle Ahnen wünschen sich einen Sohn zu ihrem eigenen Heil, denn dieser Sohn wird uns aus der Hölle namens Punnāma erlösen.

Word by Word

• इच्छन्ति: desire
• इच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (पितरः)

• स्वार्थहेतोः: for their own purpose
• स्वार्थहेतोः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व-अर्थ-हेतु (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + अर्थ + हेतु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; हेतु-निर्देश (cause)

• सुतम्: a son
• सुतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यतः: because
• यतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कारणार्थक (causal conjunction/adverb)

• पुन्नाम्नः: of (the hell called) Punnāma
• पुन्नाम्नः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुन्नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

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

• पुत्रः: a son
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अस्मान्: us
• अस्मान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मोचयिष्यति: will free; will release
• मोचयिष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative: मोचय-)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (contextual narrator within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic vision: ancestors in subtle bodies looking toward a newborn/young son as a rescuer; shadowy depiction of a hell realm labeled Punnāma contrasted with light from ritual offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Punnāma-naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma frames progeny—especially a righteous son—as a means of continuing ancestral rites that aid the departed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha-context (Narmadā region); this verse supports the pitṛ-focused teaching rather than naming a distinct site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: performance of ancestral rites (tarpaṇa/śrāddha) by the son to relieve ancestors from suffering.