Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तर्पयित्वा पितॄञ्श्राद्धे तिलमिश्रैर्जलैरपि । उद्धरेदात्मना सार्धं पुरुषानेकविंशतिम्

Transliteration

tarpayitvā pitṝñśrāddhe tilamiśrairjalairapi | uddharedātmanā sārdhaṃ puruṣānekaviṃśatim

Translation

Having satisfied the ancestors in the śrāddha with water mixed with sesame, one lifts up—together with oneself—twenty-one persons of one’s line.

Word by Word

• तर्पयित्वा: having satisfied (offered libations)
• तर्पयित्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तृप्/तर्प् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), causative sense (णिच्) implied: ‘having satisfied’

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

• श्राद्धे: in the śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धे: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तिलमिश्रैः: mixed with sesame
• तिलमिश्रैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिल + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—तिलैः मिश्राः (तत्पुरुष)

• जलैः: with waters
• जलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ

• उद्धरेत्: would lift up/deliver
• उद्धरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• आत्मना: by himself
• आत्मना: Kartr-sahabhava/Instrument (by oneself/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सार्धम्: together with
• सार्धम्: Saha (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्धम् (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-अर्थक-अव्यय (adverb/preposition ‘together with’)

• पुरुषान्: men/persons
• पुरुषान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• एकविंशतिम्: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिम्: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (used as numeral qualifier)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā–Nīlagaṅgā Saṅgama (tarpaṇa-ghāṭa)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (king; contextually Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee stands knee-deep at the riverbank, offering tila-mixed water with cupped hands; subtle ancestral figures receive the offering in a luminous, mist-like realm; nearby priests prepare śrāddha items; the confluence waters shimmer.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Śrāddha
• Tila (sesame)
• Jala (water)
• Lineage merit (kula-uddhāra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes gratitude to one’s ancestors; properly performed śrāddha is portrayed as benefiting both the performer and the lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Revā-region tīrtha context (the confluence area) where ancestral rites are said to become especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha and pitṛ-tarpaṇa using water mixed with sesame (tila-jala).