Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

दद्यात्पिण्डं पित्ःणां तु भावितेनान्तरात्मना । तस्य ते द्वादशाब्दानि सुतृप्ताः पितरो नृप

Transliteration

dadyātpiṇḍaṃ pitḥṇāṃ tu bhāvitenāntarātmanā | tasya te dvādaśābdāni sutṛptāḥ pitaro nṛpa

Translation

Ô roi, qu’on offre le piṇḍa aux Pitṛs avec l’âme intérieurement recueillie et emplie de foi. Par cet acte, ses ancêtres demeurent pleinement rassasiés durant douze ans.

Word by Word

• दद्यात्: should give
• दद्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• पिण्डम्: rice-ball offering
• पिण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (masculine, accusative singular)

• पितॄणाम्: of/for the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (masculine, genitive plural)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (particle: “indeed/but”)

• भावितेन: purified/imbued (with devotion)
• भावितेन: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भावित (भू धातु, कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying अन्तरात्मना)

• अन्तरात्मना: with the inner self (mind)
• अन्तरात्मना: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (masculine, instrumental singular); कर्मधारय “inner self/mind”

• तस्य: of him/thereof
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन (genitive singular); सम्बन्ध

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया/चतुर्थी, एकवचन (accusative/dative singular); here dative “to you”

• द्वादश: twelve
• द्वादश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द; विशेषण (qualifying अब्दानि)

• अब्दानि: years
• अब्दानि: Karma (Extent/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (masculine, accusative plural)

• सुतृप्ताः: fully satisfied
• सुतृप्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग) + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying पितरः)

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (masculine, nominative plural)

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (vocative singular)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate context of Revā Khaṇḍa narration to a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuddharudra-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee on the riverbank prepares piṇḍas (rice-balls) and offers them with folded hands, eyes lowered in inward recollection; subtle presence of satisfied pitṛs receiving the offering.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral rites bear lasting fruit when performed with inner devotion and mental purity, not merely as outward ritual.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Revā Khaṇḍa, the instruction supports the sacred landscape around the Revā/Narmadā region where such rites are praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering piṇḍa (piṇḍa-dāna/śrāddha-related oblation) to the Pitṛs with a recollected, devotional mind.