Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

शुक्लतीर्थे महाराज राकां रेवाजलाञ्जलिम् । कल्पकोटिसहस्राणि दत्त्वा स्युः पितरः शिवाः

Transliteration

śuklatīrthe mahārāja rākāṃ revājalāñjalim | kalpakoṭisahasrāṇi dattvā syuḥ pitaraḥ śivāḥ

Translation

Ô grand roi, à Śukla-tīrtha, si, la nuit de pleine lune, l’on offre dans le creux de la main une libation d’eau de la Revā (Narmadā), alors les Pitṛs—comme s’ils avaient reçu des dons durant des milliers de crores de kalpas—deviennent auspices et pareils à Śiva, pleinement comblés.

Word by Word

• शुक्लतीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्लतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (शुक्लं तीर्थम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महान् राजा); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• राकाम्: the full-moon night (Rākā)
• राकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• रेवाजलाञ्जलिम्: a handful (añjali) of Reva’s water
• रेवाजलाञ्जलिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेवा (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक) + अञ्जलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रेवायाः जलस्य अञ्जलिः/रेवाजल-अञ्जलिः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कल्पकोटिसहस्राणि: for thousands of crores of aeons
• कल्पकोटिसहस्राणि: Karma (Measure/extent as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कल्पानां कोटि-सहस्राणि इव/कल्प-कोटि-सहस्राणि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कालपरिमाण-रूपेण), बहुवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive): 'having given/offered'

• स्युः: would be / become
• स्युः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• पितरः: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), बहुवचन

• शिवाः: auspicious, blessed
• शिवाः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'पितरः' इति विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Revākhaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Under a radiant full moon, a devotee stands at the Narmadā’s edge, cupping water in both palms (añjali) and offering it with mantras; subtle ancestral figures appear in the moonlit sky, serene and ‘Śiva-like’.

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Pitṛs
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a small offering, when made at a powerful tīrtha with right timing and devotion, yields vast ancestral satisfaction and auspicious merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha on the banks of the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering an añjali (handful) of Narmadā water to the Pitṛs on the full-moon night (rākā).