Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

दधिभिः सह संमिश्रं पिण्डं यस्तु प्रदापयेत् । तस्मिंस्तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा विधिवद्दक्षिणामुखः

Transliteration

dadhibhiḥ saha saṃmiśraṃ piṇḍaṃ yastu pradāpayet | tasmiṃstīrthe naraḥ snātvā vidhivaddakṣiṇāmukhaḥ

Translation

Quiconque offre un piṇḍa mêlé de dadhi (caillé) — après s’être baigné en ce même tīrtha, qu’il accomplisse le rite selon la règle, le visage tourné vers le sud (dakṣiṇāmukha).

Word by Word

• dadhibhiḥ: with curds
• dadhibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural neuter

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahārtha (Association/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (postposition) — with; governs तृतीया

• saṃmiśram: mixed
• saṃmiśram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃmiśra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular neuter (agreeing with पिण्डम्)

• piṇḍam: piṇḍa offering
• piṇḍam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular masculine

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Relative pronoun nominative singular masculine

• tu: indeed
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• pradāpayet: should offer
• pradāpayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√dā (धातु) (णिच् causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोगः — should cause to be given/should offer

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular neuter

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — Locative singular neuter

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular masculine

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) — having bathed

• vidhivat: according to the prescribed rite
• vidhivat: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — ‘according to rule’; तद्धितान्त अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग (adverbial formation)

• dakṣiṇā-mukhaḥ: facing south
• dakṣiṇā-mukhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (दक्षिणा मुखं यस्य) — Nominative singular masculine (qualifying नरः)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continued context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee freshly bathed sits on darbha mat at the riverbank, clearly oriented south; a small compass-like cue (sun path) indicates direction; he offers a curd-mixed piṇḍa on a leaf-plate while a priest instructs.

Characters & Entities

• Piṇḍa (ancestral offering)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic practice emphasizes both sacred place and correct procedure: tīrtha-snāna and vidhivat performance together make the rite efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

“That tīrtha” refers to the tīrtha under discussion in this passage—within the Dadhiskanda/Madhuskanda sequence of Revākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

After bathing at the tīrtha, offer a curd-mixed piṇḍa while facing south, following proper ritual rules.