Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

अमावास्यादिनं प्राप्य मासि भाद्रपदे सरः । ब्रह्मणो यष्टिकायां तु यः कुर्यात्पितृतर्पणम्

Transliteration

amāvāsyādinaṃ prāpya māsi bhādrapade saraḥ | brahmaṇo yaṣṭikāyāṃ tu yaḥ kuryātpitṛtarpaṇam

Translation

Au jour d’Amāvasyā, dans le mois de Bhādrapada, quiconque accomplit le tarpaṇa—l’offrande d’eau—aux Pitṛs au lac sacré nommé Yaṣṭikā, le Bâton de Brahmā, obtient le mérite particulier de ce tīrtha.

Word by Word

• अमावास्या-दिनम्: the day of new moon
• अमावास्या-दिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अमावास्यायाः दिनम्)

• प्राप्य: having reached/after arriving
• प्राप्य: Kriya (Absolutive/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातुः—प्राप् (लभ्/गम्-अर्थ)

• मासि: in the month
• मासि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• भाद्रपदे: in Bhādrapada (month)
• भाद्रपदे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाद्रपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सरः: at the lake/pond
• सरः: Adhikarana/Place (Locative sense implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देश), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• यष्टिकायाम्: at/on the staff (place called Yaṣṭikā)
• यष्टिकायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यष्टिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितृ-तर्पणम्: offering of satisfaction to the ancestors (libation)
• पितृ-तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक; √तृप्-णिच्/भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां तर्पणम्)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative context of Dharmāraṇya-khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahma-Yaṣṭikā-saras

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at dawn on amāvāsyā stands at a still sacred lake, offering water with cupped hands toward the south, with a staff-emblem of Brahmā indicated near the tīrtha; subtle presence of unseen pitṛs receiving the offering.

Characters & Entities

• Amāvāsyā
• Bhādrapada
• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Yaṣṭikā (Brahma-yaṣṭikā)
• Saraḥ (sacred lake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right time (Amāvāsyā) and right place (a famed tīrtha) intensify the fruit of Pitṛ-dharma performed with devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred lake/tīrtha called Brahmā’s Yaṣṭikā (Brahma-yaṣṭikā) within the Dharmāraṇya sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (ancestor libations) to be performed on Amāvāsyā in the month of Bhādrapada at that lake.