Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

गयादिसर्वतीर्थानां फलमाप्नोति मानवः । विधिमन्त्रसमायुक्तस्तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

gayādisarvatīrthānāṃ phalamāpnoti mānavaḥ | vidhimantrasamāyuktastarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

L’être humain obtient le fruit de tous les tīrthas, à commencer par Gayā, lorsque—muni de la juste procédure et des mantras—il offre le tarpaṇa aux divinités Pitṛ.

Word by Word

• गयादिसर्वतीर्थानाम्: of all tīrthas such as Gayā
• गयादिसर्वतीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया-आदि-सर्व-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; गया + आदि + सर्व + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (गयादीनां सर्वतीर्थानाम्)

• फलम्: fruit; result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मानवः: a man; human
• मानवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• विधिमन्त्रसमायुक्तः: endowed with proper rite and mantras
• विधिमन्त्रसमायुक्तः: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधि-मन्त्र-सम्-आ-युक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; युज् धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘युक्त’; समासः तत्पुरुष (विधिना मन्त्रेण च सम्यक् युक्तः)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy; should offer oblations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; causative sense in usage ‘to satisfy/offer’

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

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śrotṛ audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a riverbank performs tarpaṇa with cupped hands, kusa grass, and water, while subtle ancestral figures (Pitṛs) appear in the background receiving offerings; Gayā is symbolically referenced as a distant sacred seat.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Pitṛ-devatās
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Correctly performed pitṛ-tarpaṇa can confer the comprehensive merit associated with the greatest pilgrimage centers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is named as the leading exemplar of powerful śrāddha/tarpaṇa tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tarpaṇa to the Pitṛ-devatās, performed with proper vidhi (procedure) and mantra.