Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा शुचिर्भूत्वा ब्रह्मचारी जितेन्द्रियः । पितृकार्यं प्रकुर्वीत विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा

Transliteration

tatra snātvā śucirbhūtvā brahmacārī jitendriyaḥ | pitṛkāryaṃ prakurvīta vidhidṛṣṭena karmaṇā

Translation

Nachdem man dort gebadet und rein geworden ist, als Brahmacārī und die Sinne bezwingend, soll man die Riten für die Ahnen nach der von heiliger Ordnung gebilligten Vorschrift vollziehen.

Word by Word

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

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund)

• śuciḥ: pure
• śuciḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (कर्ता-विशेषण)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund)

• brahmacārī: a celibate student (brahmacārin)
• brahmacārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्

• jita-indriyaḥ: one who has conquered the senses
• jita-indriyaḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jita (कृदन्त; √ji जि + क्त) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (जितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य सः)

• pitṛ-kāryam: rite/duty for the ancestors
• pitṛ-kāryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां कार्यम्)

• prakurvīta: should perform
• prakurvīta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्

• vidhi-dṛṣṭena: by the act prescribed by rule
• vidhi-dṛṣṭena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त; √dṛś दृश् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्; तृतीया-सम्बन्धः; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विधिना दृष्टम्)

• karmaṇā: by (a) ritual act
• karmaṇā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa voice) addressing a Pāṇḍava interlocutor (likely Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrim emerging from river bath, wet hair tied, wearing clean cloth; sits on darbha grass with controlled posture; prepares śrāddha implements (piṇḍa, til, water pot) under guidance of a priest.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Pāṇḍava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity, self-restraint, and scripturally guided ancestral duty are presented as essential pillars of dharma at a sacred place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha associated with the Revā/Narmadā sacred geography within the Āvantya-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

After tīrtha-bathing, one should perform pitṛ-kārya (ancestral rites) strictly according to vidhi (injunction).