Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

मोक्षो भवति सर्वेषां पित्ःणां नृपनन्दन । विप्रेभ्यः काञ्चनं दद्यात्प्रीयतां मे पितामहः

Transliteration

mokṣo bhavati sarveṣāṃ pitḥṇāṃ nṛpanandana | viprebhyaḥ kāñcanaṃ dadyātprīyatāṃ me pitāmahaḥ

Translation

Ô prince, la délivrance échoit à tous les Pitṛs. Qu’on donne de l’or aux brāhmaṇas en priant : « Que mon grand-père soit comblé ».

Word by Word

• mokṣaḥ: liberation
• mokṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhavati: becomes/is
• bhavati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• nṛpa-nandana: O king’s son
• nṛpa-nandana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• viprebhyaḥ: to the Brahmins
• viprebhyaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kāñcanam: gold
• kāñcanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāñcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• prīyatām: may (he) be pleased
• prīyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prī (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pitāmahaḥ: grandfather
• pitāmahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā) context; specific spot implied by later mention of Nara-Nārāyaṇī/Devadroṇī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpanandana / Bhārata / nṛpottama (a king/prince addressed across the unit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prince stands beside a sacred riverbank as brāhmaṇas sit in a row; the donor offers a small casket of gold with folded hands, mentally dedicating it to his grandfather; subtle presence of ancestral figures receiving light.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)
• Kāñcana (gold)
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with ancestral intention becomes a vehicle for pitṛ-prīti and spiritual upliftment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa situates these gifts and rites within the merit-field of the Revā (Narmadā) sacred tract.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give gold to brāhmaṇas while dedicating the merit to one’s forefathers (e.g., ‘May my grandfather be pleased’).