Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

दक्षिणं कूलमाश्रित्य ये द्विजा धर्मवत्सलाः । आ मृत्योर्निवसिष्यन्ति ते गताः पितृमन्दिरे

Transliteration

dakṣiṇaṃ kūlamāśritya ye dvijā dharmavatsalāḥ | ā mṛtyornivasiṣyanti te gatāḥ pitṛmandire

Translation

Die Zweimalgeborenen, dem Dharma zugetan, die am südlichen Ufer Zuflucht nehmen, werden dort bis zum Tod verweilen; danach gehen sie zur Wohnstatt der Pitṛs, dem Ahnenreich.

Word by Word

• दक्षिणम्: southern
• दक्षिणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (kūlam)

• कूलम्: bank/shore
• कूलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to
• आश्रित्य: None
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√श्रि (धातु) + क्त्वा (ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक

• द्विजाः: twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• धर्मवत्सलाः: fond of dharma / devoted to righteousness
• धर्मवत्सलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म + वत्सल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (dvijāḥ)

• आ: until
• आ: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधिपर्यन्तबोधक (until)

• मृत्योः: of death (i.e., until death)
• मृत्योः: None
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; 'आ' इत्यस्य योगे षष्ठी (until death)

• निवसिष्यन्ति: will dwell
• निवसिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√वस् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• गताः: gone (having gone)
• गताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + क्त (past passive participle)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणवत् (te)

• पितृमन्दिरे: in the abode of the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितृमन्दिरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating the Revā Māhātmya context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — Dakṣiṇa-kūla (pitṛ-phala)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Umā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the southern bank, disciplined brahmins perform tarpaṇa facing the river; subtle imagery of pitṛs receiving offerings in a luminous ancestral realm above/behind, indicating ‘pitṛ-mandira’.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Living a dharma-centered life at a sacred riverbank is portrayed as a direct support for a blessed posthumous destiny connected with the ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) riverbank—specifically the southern bank (dakṣiṇa-kūla) within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is commanded here; the emphasis is on tīrtha-vāsa (residing at the sacred bank) with dharmic conduct.