Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

स तारयति पूर्वजान्दश पूर्वान्दशापरान् । द्वयोश्च संगमं दृष्ट्वा श्रुत्वा वा सागरध्वनिम्

Transliteration

sa tārayati pūrvajāndaśa pūrvāndaśāparān | dvayośca saṃgamaṃ dṛṣṭvā śrutvā vā sāgaradhvanim

Translation

Il délivre dix générations d’ancêtres et dix générations à venir. En voyant la confluence des deux eaux, ou même en entendant le grondement de l’océan, un tel mérite s’éveille.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तारयति: saves / delivers
• तारयति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative sense: ‘causes to cross/saves’)

• पूर्वजान्: forefathers/ancestors
• पूर्वजान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• दश: ten
• दश: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; यहाँ ‘दश’ (ten) — पूर्वजान् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पूर्वान्: the earlier (ones)
• पूर्वान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘दश’ इत्यस्य विशेष्य (understood: जनान्/पितॄन्)

• दश: ten
• दश: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या; पूर्वान् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अपरान्: the later (ones)
• अपरान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘दश’ इत्यस्य विशेष्य (understood: जनान्)

• दश: ten
• दश: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या; अपरान् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• द्वयोः: of the two
• द्वयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन; ‘of the two’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• संगमम्: confluence
• संगमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive); ‘having seen’

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive); ‘having heard’

• वा: or
• वा: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पबोधक अव्यय (disjunctive particle ‘or’)

• सागरध्वनिम्: the sound of the ocean
• सागरध्वनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर + ध्वनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सागरस्य ध्वनिः)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvaya-saṅgama (unnamed confluence)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a dramatic confluence, two differently colored streams meet and surge toward the sea; a pilgrim stands listening to the distant ocean roar, offering water with cupped hands, while faint ancestral silhouettes rise upward, symbolizing deliverance across generations.

Characters & Entities

• Sāgara (Ocean)
• Saṅgama (confluence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is so potent that even darśana (seeing) and śravaṇa (hearing) at a holy confluence can uplift one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A saṅgama (confluence of two waters) and the sāgara (ocean-shore) context are praised, though the exact confluence is not named in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana of a confluence and/or śravaṇa of the ocean’s roar as devotional encounter with a tīrtha.