Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 137

Devanagari script

तिलाः श्वेतास्तिलाः कृष्णाः सर्वपापहरास्तिलाः । तिलद्रोणप्रदानेनु संसारश्छिद्यतां मम

Transliteration

tilāḥ śvetāstilāḥ kṛṣṇāḥ sarvapāpaharāstilāḥ | tiladroṇapradānenu saṃsāraśchidyatāṃ mama

Translation

Sésame—sésame blanc, sésame noir—le sésame efface vraiment tous les péchés. Par le don d’une mesure droṇa de sésame, que mon lien au saṃsāra soit tranché.

Word by Word

• tilāḥ: sesame seeds
• tilāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• śvetāḥ: white
• śvetāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

• tilāḥ: sesame seeds
• tilāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (पुनरुक्ति)

• kṛṣṇāḥ: black
• kṛṣṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

• sarvapāpaharāḥ: removers of all sins
• sarvapāpaharāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘सर्वेषां पापानां हराः’ विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

• tilāḥ: sesame seeds
• tilāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tiladroṇapradānena: by the donation of a droṇa of sesame
• tiladroṇapradānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + droṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः ‘तिल-द्रोण-प्रदान’

• nu: indeed/now (particle)
• nu: Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/pleading particle)

• saṃsāraḥ: cycle of rebirth
• saṃsāraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• chidyatām: may it be cut off
• chidyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √chid (छिद् ‘to cut’)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

• mama: of me/my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Ritual reciter/devotee (mantra-voice within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two heaps of sesame—white and black—are shown before a Śiva altar; the donor joins palms, uttering a prayer for the cutting of saṃsāra; a measuring vessel indicates the droṇa donation.

Characters & Entities

• tila (sesame)
• saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with prayer transforms ritual into a liberation-oriented act—seeking freedom from saṃsāra, not mere worldly gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revākhaṇḍa context is present, but this verse is a general dāna-mantra teaching rather than site-specific praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recite a prayer/mantra while giving a droṇa-measure of sesame, invoking sin-destruction and release from saṃsāra.