Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

प्रभाते विमले प्राप्ते स्नात्वा पूज्य दिवाकरम् । तिलमिश्रेण तोयेन तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

prabhāte vimale prāpte snātvā pūjya divākaram | tilamiśreṇa toyena tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

Quand l’aube pure est venue, qu’on se baigne et qu’on vénère le Soleil ; puis, avec de l’eau mêlée de sésame, qu’on offre le tarpaṇa aux divinités Pitṛ, les ancêtres.

Word by Word

• प्रभाते: in the morning
• प्रभाते: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक

• विमले: pure; clear
• विमले: Adhikarana (Qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण

• प्राप्ते: when (it) has come/arrived
• प्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; ‘when (it) has arrived’ (locative absolute)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• पूज्य: worshipping; having worshipped
• पूज्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior/Concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु) → पूज्य (यत्/ण्यत्-कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त-आदेश (gerundive/absolutive sense in instruction): ‘having worshipped/one should worship’; here used like क्त्वा-समर्थ ‘worshipping’

• दिवाकरम्: the Sun
• दिवाकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दिवः आकरः = sun)

• तिलमिश्रेण: mixed with sesame
• तिलमिश्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिल + मिश्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तिलैः मिश्रः = mixed with sesame)

• तोयेन: with water
• तोयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy/offer libations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) → तर्पय् (णिच् causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; णिजन्त

• पितृदेवताः: the ancestral deities (pitṛs)
• पितृदेवताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां देवताः = ancestral deities)

Speaker

Unspecified (Revākhaṇḍa narrative voice; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira in this passage-context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kusumeśvara-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a spotless dawn on the riverbank, a devotee emerges from the water, offers arghya to the rising Sun, then performs pitṛ-tarpaṇa with sesame-mixed water, facing the appropriate direction, with calm concentration.

Characters & Entities

• Divākara (Sūrya)
• Pitṛ-devatāḥ (Pitṛs)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Begin sacred acts with purity—dawn bathing and Sūrya worship—and then honor the ancestors through tarpaṇa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Kusumeśa-tīrtha Māhātmya within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā sacred geography).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at dawn, worship the Sun, and offer Pitṛ-tarpaṇa using water mixed with tila (sesame).