Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

एकविंशतिवारांस्तु गयायां तर्प्पणे कृते । पितॄणां या परा तृप्तिर्जायते दानवाधिप

Transliteration

ekaviṃśativārāṃstu gayāyāṃ tarppaṇe kṛte | pitṝṇāṃ yā parā tṛptirjāyate dānavādhipa

Translation

Ô seigneur des Dānavas, la suprême satisfaction des Pitṛs qui naît de l’accomplissement du tarpaṇa à Gayā vingt et une fois—

Word by Word

• एकविंशतिवारान्: twenty-one times
• एकविंशतिवारान्: Karma (Measure/extent as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकविंशति + वार (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विशेषार्थ (emphasis)

• गयायाम्: in Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तर्पणे: in the act of libation
• तर्पणे: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक; √तृप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• कृते: when (it is) done
• कृते: Kriya (Circumstantial/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘कृते’ = ‘when done’

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• या: which
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• परा: supreme
• परा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तृप्तिः: satisfaction
• तृप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• जायते: arises/is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• दानवाधिप: O ruler of the Dānavas
• दानवाधिप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव + अधिप (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Brahmā (continuation; sentence continues into next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dānava-adhipa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A comparative tableau: Gayā’s riverbank/ghāṭa with priests guiding tarpaṇa; a devotee repeats the act in counted cycles (21), invoking pitṛs; the mood is solemn and dutiful.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Gayā
• Pitṛs
• Dānavādhipa (Lohāsura)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas quantify ritual intensity to communicate relative spiritual potency and to guide devotees toward efficacious sacred actions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is referenced as the standard pitṛ-tīrtha whose fruits will be compared with Dharmāraṇya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tarpaṇa at Gayā, repeated twenty-one times, as a benchmark for producing supreme pitṛ-satisfaction.