Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तं पश्य निहतं तातं गतासुं गतचेतसम् । संस्कृत्य विधिवत्पुत्र तर्पयस्व यथातथम्

Transliteration

taṃ paśya nihataṃ tātaṃ gatāsuṃ gatacetasam | saṃskṛtya vidhivatputra tarpayasva yathātatham

Translation

Sieh deinen getöteten Vater an, dessen Leben und Bewusstsein geschwunden sind. Vollziehe die vorgeschriebenen Riten für ihn, mein Sohn, und bringe die gebührenden Trankopfer dar.

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Pronoun, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• पश्य: see
• पश्य: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Imperative, 2nd person singular

• निहतम्: killed
• निहतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Past passive participle used adjectivally

• तातम्: father (dear father)
• तातम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• गतासुम्: lifeless
• गतासुम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + असु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (असु-गत = प्राण-गत); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘whose life has gone’

• गतचेतसम्: senseless/unconscious
• गतचेतसम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘whose consciousness has departed’

• संस्कृत्य: having performed the funeral rites
• संस्कृत्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-स्कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) — Absolutive: ‘having performed rites/arranged’

• विधिवत्: according to the proper procedure
• विधिवत्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण — Indeclinable adverb ‘according to rule’

• पुत्र: O son
• पुत्र: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तर्पयस्व: offer satisfaction (libations)
• तर्पयस्व: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Imperative: ‘satisfy/offer libations’

• यथातथम्: as is proper / in due manner
• यथातथम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-समास (यथा-तथा); क्रियाविशेषण — Indeclinable adverb ‘in whatever way/appropriately’

Speaker

Mother of Rāma (Paraśurāma) (implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) ghat/tīra

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king) in the listening frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The mother instructs the son beside the lifeless body; ritual items—water pot, darbha grass, sesame—are suggested, with the river as witness to dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Father of Rāma
• Tarpana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Filial piety is dharma: honoring ancestors through proper rites sustains familial and cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is cited in this verse; the Revā Khaṇḍa context broadly aligns with Narmadā-region sacred practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Funerary observances and tarpaṇa (libations to satisfy the departed) performed vidhivat—according to scriptural rule.