Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

त्रिःसप्त तर्पयामास पितॄंस्तत्र प्रहर्षितः । जमदग्नौ मृते तेन प्रतिज्ञातं महात्मना

Transliteration

triḥsapta tarpayāmāsa pitṝṃstatra praharṣitaḥ | jamadagnau mṛte tena pratijñātaṃ mahātmanā

Translation

Dort, voller Freude, sättigte er die Ahnen durch Tarpana—Wasserlibationen—einundzwanzigmal. Als Jamadagni getötet worden war, hatte jener Großgesinnte ein Gelübde abgelegt.

Word by Word

• triḥ: three times
• triḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: triḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: संख्यावाचक/आवृत्तिवाचक अव्यय (adverb: ‘thrice’)

• sapta: seven (times)
• sapta: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; अत्र कर्मविशेषणरूपेण (numeral used adjectivally)

• tarpayāmāsa: satisfied/propitiated (by offerings)
• tarpayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛp (धातु) → tarpayati (णिच्)
• Form: लिट् (Periphrastic Perfect/परस्मैपदी), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative (णिच्)

• pitṝn: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• praharṣitaḥ: delighted
• praharṣitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-hṛṣ (धातु) → praharṣita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘delighted’

• jamadagnau: when Jamadagni (was)
• jamadagnau: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jamadagni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• mṛte: dead
• mṛte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) → mṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी—‘when (he) was dead’

• tena: by him / by that
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• pratijñātam: was vowed, promised
• pratijñātam: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati-jñā (धातु) → pratijñāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘was vowed/promised’

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Karaṇa/Karta (Agent in passive sense/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—महान् आत्मा यस्य सः (बहुव्रीहि)

Speaker

Pulastya (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma at a river/ghāṭa performs tarpaṇa twenty-one times, smiling with solemn joy; ancestral presences are suggested as luminous silhouettes receiving libations; the vow after Jamadagni’s death hangs in the air.

Characters & Entities

• Paraśurāma
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Jamadagni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral satisfaction (tarpana) and personal vows are portrayed as central duties in times of loss.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “there” indicates the sanctified setting associated with Rāmatīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa, specified as triḥsapta (twenty-one) offerings/acts of satisfaction.