Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

गीतं तत्र प्रकर्तव्यं पिण्डदानं यथाविधि । ब्राह्मणैः श्रोत्रियैः पार्थ षट्कर्मनिरतैः शुभैः

Transliteration

gītaṃ tatra prakartavyaṃ piṇḍadānaṃ yathāvidhi | brāhmaṇaiḥ śrotriyaiḥ pārtha ṣaṭkarmanirataiḥ śubhaiḥ

Translation

Dort soll heiliges Singen vollzogen und Piṇḍa-Gaben nach Vorschrift dargebracht werden — durch glückverheißende, vedakundige Brāhmaṇas (Śrotriyas), die den sechs Pflichten ergeben sind, o Sohn des Pāṇḍu.

Word by Word

• गीतम्: singing/chanting
• गीतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गी (धातु) → गीत (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘song/chanting’ (भाव/कर्मणि क्त)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/प्रसङ्गवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: there)

• प्रकर्तव्यम्: should be performed
• प्रकर्तव्यम्: Vidheyavishesana (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + कृ (धातु) → कर्तव्य (कृदन्त/तव्यत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण — ‘to be done/should be performed’

• पिण्डदानम्: piṇḍa-offering
• पिण्डदानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + दान (प्रातिपदिक); ‘पिण्डस्य दानम्’
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — ‘offering of piṇḍa’

• यथाविधि: according to the prescribed rite
• यथाविधि: Kriya-vishesana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय — ‘according to rule’

• ब्राह्मणैः: by Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणैः: Kartr-karana (Agent expressed instrumentally)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘by Brahmins’

• श्रोत्रियैः: Veda-learned
• श्रोत्रियैः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रोत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — विशेषणम् ब्राह्मणैः; ‘learned in Veda’

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन — संबोधन

• षट्कर्मनिरतैः: engaged in the six rites/duties
• षट्कर्मनिरतैः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् + कर्म + निरत (प्रातिपदिक); ‘षट्कर्मसु निरताः’
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — विशेषणम् ब्राह्मणैः; ‘engaged in the six duties’

• शुभैः: auspicious, virtuous
• शुभैः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — विशेषणम् ब्राह्मणैः; ‘auspicious/virtuous’

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (addressing Pāṇḍunandana; likely a narrator speaking to a Pāṇḍava listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kumāreśvara tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a tīrtha-bank, a small assembly: Veda-learned brāhmaṇas seated on kuśa grass conduct piṇḍadāna while devotees sing hymns; offerings of sesame, water, and rice-balls; a shrine visible nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍunandana (Arjuna/Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee, context-dependent)
• Brāhmaṇas (śrotriya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right performance of dharma at a tīrtha—devotion and ancestral rites—gains sanctity when done according to śāstra through qualified priests.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The acts are prescribed within the Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha setting (Narmadā-region pilgrimage).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devotional singing (gīta) and piṇḍa-dāna according to proper rule, performed with śrotriya brāhmaṇas engaged in ṣaṭkarmas.