Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

पितॄनुद्दिश्य योभक्त्या पायसं मधुसंयुतम् । गुडसर्पिस्तिलैःसार्धं गंगांभसि विनिक्षिपेत्

Transliteration

pitṝnuddiśya yobhaktyā pāyasaṃ madhusaṃyutam | guḍasarpistilaiḥsārdhaṃ gaṃgāṃbhasi vinikṣipet

Translation

With devotion, one who, intending it for the Pitṛs (ancestors), offers into the waters of the Gaṅgā pāyasa (rice-pudding) mixed with honey—together with jaggery, ghee, and sesame—performs a powerful ancestral offering.

Word by Word

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Plural)

• उद्दिश्य: having dedicated/with reference to
• उद्दिश्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); ‘उद्दिश्य’ = उद्दिश् + क्त्वा (having intended/addressed)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular)

• पायसम्: rice-pudding (pāyasa)
• पायसम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• मधु-सम्युतम्: mixed with honey
• मधु-सम्युतम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधु (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मधुना संयुतम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying पायसम्)

• गुड-सर्पिस्-तिलैः: with jaggery, ghee, and sesame
• गुड-सर्पिस्-तिलैः: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुड (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्पिस् (प्रातिपदिक) + तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (गुडश्च सर्पिश्च तिलाश्च); तृतीया, बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• सार्धम्: together with
• सार्धम्: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्धम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपसर्गार्थ/सह-सम्बन्धे; adverb/preposition-like)

• गङ्गा-अम्भसि: in the waters of the Ganga
• गङ्गा-अम्भसि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गङ्गायाः अम्भसि = गङ्गाजले); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative Singular)

• विनिक्षिपेत्: should place/offer (cast)
• विनिक्षिपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नि-√क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Kāśī ghat, a devotee performs pitṛ-offering: a leaf-bowl of pāyasa glistening with honey, with sesame, jaggery, and ghee nearby; hands extend over the river as lamps float and priests chant softly.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional offerings to ancestors become especially efficacious when made in the Gaṅgā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīrtha (the sacred waters of the Gaṅgā) as honored in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An ancestral offering: pāyasa with honey, along with jaggery, ghee, and sesame, offered into Gaṅgā water.