Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

सकृत्पिण्डप्रदानेन मुच्यते ब्रह्महत्यया । एकादश्यामुपोषित्वा पक्षयोरुभयोरपि

Transliteration

sakṛtpiṇḍapradānena mucyate brahmahatyayā | ekādaśyāmupoṣitvā pakṣayorubhayorapi

Translation

Par l’offrande du piṇḍa ne fût-ce qu’une seule fois, on est délivré du péché de brahmahatyā. Et à l’Ekādaśī, dans les deux quinzaine lunaires, qu’on observe le jeûne.

Word by Word

• sakṛt: once
• sakṛt: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sakṛt (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (frequency adverb)

• piṇḍa-pradānena: by the offering of a piṇḍa (funeral rice-ball)
• piṇḍa-pradānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: "piṇḍasya pradānam"; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), तृतीया (Instr./3rd), एकवचन (sg.)

• mucyate: is released
• mucyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg.), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): "is freed"

• brahmahatyayā: from the sin of brahmin-slaying
• brahmahatyayā: Apādāna (Ablative sense/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmahatyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), तृतीया (Instr./3rd), एकवचन (sg.); अपादानार्थे/हेतौ प्रयोगः: "from/with respect to the sin"

• ekādaśyām: on Ekādaśī (the 11th lunar day)
• ekādaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekādaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (sg.)

• upoṣitvā: having fasted
• upoṣitvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√vas (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund): "having fasted"

• pakṣayoḥ: of the two fortnights (waxing and waning)
• pakṣayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), द्विवचन (du.)

• ubhayor: of both
• ubhayor: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.)/नपुंसक (n.) as needed, षष्ठी (Gen./6th), द्विवचन (du.); pakṣayoḥ-विशेषण

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव

Speaker

Deductive (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator/ṛṣi instructing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revākhaṇḍa tīrtha (piṇḍa-pradāna-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a riverbank altar of sand and kuśa grass, a pilgrim offers a single piṇḍa with solemn focus; a lunar calendar motif hints at recurring Ekādaśī fasts in both fortnights.

Characters & Entities

• Ekādaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma elevates ancestral rites and vrata as potent means of purification, even for severe moral transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

This verse emphasizes the rite (piṇḍa offering) and Ekādaśī observance; the surrounding passage supplies the tīrtha itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer piṇḍa (piṇḍa-pradāna) and observe Ekādaśī fasting in both lunar fortnights (śukla and kṛṣṇa).