Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

तर्पणं तिलमिश्रेण जलेन द्विजसत्तमाः । गयाश्राद्धसमा तुष्टिः पितॄणां च भविष्यति

Transliteration

tarpaṇaṃ tilamiśreṇa jalena dvijasattamāḥ | gayāśrāddhasamā tuṣṭiḥ pitṝṇāṃ ca bhaviṣyati

Translation

O Bester unter den Zweimalgeborenen: Wenn man hier das tarpaṇa mit Wasser darbringt, das mit Sesam vermischt ist, dann erwächst die Zufriedenheit der Ahnen — gleich der, die das berühmte śrāddha in Gayā gewährt.

Word by Word

• तर्पणम्: libation, offering (tarpaṇa)
• तर्पणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय-रूपे (topic)

• तिलमिश्रेण: mixed with sesame
• तिलमिश्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिल + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण (mixed with sesame)

• जलेन: with water
• जलेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; साधन (by means of water)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (addressed)

• गया: Gaya (sacred place)
• गया: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रातिपदिक-रूपे (पूर्वपद); समासाङ्ग (as first member)

• श्राद्ध: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्ध: Sambandha (Compound member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रातिपदिक-रूपे (उत्तरपद-पूर्व); समासाङ्ग

• समा: equal to
• समा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (equal to)

• तुष्टिः: satisfaction, contentment
• तुष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्तृ/फल (result)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of the ancestors)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• भविष्यति: will be, will occur
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrative voice within the Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mūlasthāna (Devikā-taṭa) pitṛ-tīrtha efficacy

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed as ‘best of twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet riverbank, a dvija performs tarpaṇa: kneeling, pouring sesame-mixed water through the hand while reciting pitṛ names; subtle ancestral figures appear satisfied; a symbolic comparison to Gayā is hinted by a distant imagined Gayā-viṣṇupada motif or a small inset panel.

Characters & Entities

• Tarpaṇa
• Tila
• Pitṛ
• Gayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-dharma performed at a powerful tīrtha can yield extraordinary ancestral benefit, comparable to famed pilgrimage rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devikā-taṭa/Mūlasthāna tīrtha region in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, praised as granting Gayā-like fruit for pitṛ rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tarpaṇa using water mixed with sesame seeds (tila-jala) for the ancestors.