Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तर्पयित्वा पितॄञ्श्राद्धे तिलमिश्रैर्जलैरपि । उद्धरेदात्मना सार्धं पुरुषानेकविंशतिम्

Transliteration

tarpayitvā pitṝñśrāddhe tilamiśrairjalairapi | uddharedātmanā sārdhaṃ puruṣānekaviṃśatim

Translation

Nachdem man die Ahnen im Śrāddha mit wasser, das mit Sesam vermischt ist, gesättigt hat, erlöst man—zusammen mit sich selbst—einundzwanzig Personen der eigenen Linie.

Word by Word

• तर्पयित्वा: having satisfied (offered libations)
• तर्पयित्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तृप्/तर्प् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), causative sense (णिच्) implied: ‘having satisfied’

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

• श्राद्धे: in the śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धे: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तिलमिश्रैः: mixed with sesame
• तिलमिश्रैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिल + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तिलैः मिश्राः (तत्पुरुष)

• जलैः: with waters
• जलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ

• उद्धरेत्: would lift up/deliver
• उद्धरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• आत्मना: by himself
• आत्मना: Kartr-sahabhava/Instrument (by oneself/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सार्धम्: together with
• सार्धम्: Saha (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्धम् (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-अर्थक-अव्यय (adverb/preposition ‘together with’)

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

• एकविंशतिम्: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिम्: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (used as numeral qualifier)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā–Nīlagaṅgā Saṅgama (tarpaṇa-ghāṭa)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (king; contextually Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee stands knee-deep at the riverbank, offering tila-mixed water with cupped hands; subtle ancestral figures receive the offering in a luminous, mist-like realm; nearby priests prepare śrāddha items; the confluence waters shimmer.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Śrāddha
• Tila (sesame)
• Jala (water)
• Lineage merit (kula-uddhāra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes gratitude to one’s ancestors; properly performed śrāddha is portrayed as benefiting both the performer and the lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Revā-region tīrtha context (the confluence area) where ancestral rites are said to become especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha and pitṛ-tarpaṇa using water mixed with sesame (tila-jala).