Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तत्रैव पिण्डदानेन पितॄणामनृणो भवेत् । तेन पुण्येन पूतात्मा लभेद्गाणेश्वरीं गतिम्

Transliteration

tatraiva piṇḍadānena pitṝṇāmanṛṇo bhavet | tena puṇyena pūtātmā labhedgāṇeśvarīṃ gatim

Translation

Dort selbst wird man durch die Darbringung von piṇḍa von der Schuld gegenüber den Ahnen frei. Durch dieses Verdienst geläutert, erlangt die Seele den göttlichen Gang, genannt der Zustand „Gāṇeśvarī“.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• पिण्डदानेन: by offering funeral rice-balls (piṇḍa)
• पिण्डदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डदान (प्रातिपदिक; पिण्ड + दान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पिण्डस्य दानम्)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अनृणः: free from debt/obligation
• अनृणः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनृण (प्रातिपदिक; अ- + ऋण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become/should become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), तृतीयपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• पुण्येन: by (that) merit
• पुण्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• पूतात्मा: one whose self is purified
• पूतात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूतात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; पूत + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (पूतः आत्मा यस्य)

• लभेत्: would obtain/should obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), तृतीयपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• गाणेश्वरीम्: belonging to Gaṇeśvara (Gaṇeśa)
• गाणेश्वरीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गाणेश्वरी (प्रातिपदिक; गणेश्वर + ई)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गणेश्वरस्य सम्बन्धिनी)

• गतिम्: state/attainment, destination
• गतिम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continued context from Adhyāya 215)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śṛṅgitīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king (rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Śṛṅgitīrtha ghat, a devotee performs piṇḍa-dāna with kusa grass, sesame, and water; a priest guides; subtle ancestral figures receive offerings; above, a symbolic Gaṇeśa-associated divine pathway (‘Gāṇeśvarī gati’) appears as a luminous route guarded by gaṇas.

Characters & Entities

• Piṇḍadāna
• Pitṛs
• Gāṇeśvarī gati
• Śṛṅgitīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestor-obligations (pitṛ-ṛṇa) are resolved through śrāddha-style offerings at powerful tīrthas, yielding purification and higher spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śṛṅgitīrtha (implied by continuity), where piṇḍadāna is said to be especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍadāna—offering funerary rice-balls/oblations for the ancestors.