Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

यवैस्तु तर्पणं कुर्याद्देवानां दत्तमक्षयम् । प्रजानां पतयः सर्वे चूतवृक्षमुपाश्रिताः

Transliteration

yavaistu tarpaṇaṃ kuryāddevānāṃ dattamakṣayam | prajānāṃ patayaḥ sarve cūtavṛkṣamupāśritāḥ

Translation

Wenn man den Göttern mit Gerste Tarpaṇa darbringt, wird die Gabe unvergänglich. Und es heißt, alle Herren und Hüter der Geschöpfe nähmen Zuflucht beim Mangobaum.

Word by Word

• यवैः: with barley grains
• यवैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन — ‘with barleys’

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — विरोध/अन्वय (particle): ‘but/indeed’

• तर्पणम्: libation/satiating offering
• तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + ल्युट् → तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — object of ‘कुर्यात्’

• कुर्यात्: should perform
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — ‘should do’

• देवानाम्: for the gods
• देवानाम्: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — ‘of the gods’

• दत्तम्: offered
• दत्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) + क्त → दत्त
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — PPP: ‘given/offered’ (qualifying ‘तर्पणम्’ understood)

• अक्षयम्: inexhaustible
• अक्षयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘imperishable/inexhaustible’

• प्रजानाम्: of beings
• प्रजानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — ‘of creatures/subjects’

• पतयः: lords
• पतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन — ‘lords’

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन — qualifying ‘पतयः’

• चूतवृक्षम्: the mango tree
• चूतवृक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चूत (प्रातिपदिक) + वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — कर्मधारय: ‘चूतः एव वृक्षः’ (mango tree)

• उपाश्रिताः: have resorted to
• उपाश्रिताः: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त → उपाश्रित
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन — PPP: ‘having resorted to/taken refuge in’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs tarpaṇa with barley at a tīrtha; nearby a grand mango tree radiates as the shelter of many unseen guardians of beings.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Yava (barley)
• Cūta-vṛkṣa (mango tree)
• Prajāpati-like guardians (patayaḥ of prajā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Offerings made with purity and proper substance (like barley in tarpaṇa) become akṣaya—spiritually inexhaustible merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; it highlights sacred ecology (tree-sanctity) within a tīrtha setting rather than naming a single city in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tarpaṇa (libations for the devas) specifically using yava (barley), taught as yielding imperishable fruit.