Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

आश्विनस्य सिते पक्षे चतुर्दश्यां समाहितः । स्नात्वा देवान्पितॄंश्चैव तर्पयेद्विधिपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

āśvinasya site pakṣe caturdaśyāṃ samāhitaḥ | snātvā devānpitṝṃścaiva tarpayedvidhipūrvakam

Translation

Au quatorzième jour (caturdaśī) de la quinzaine claire d’Āśvina, l’esprit recueilli, qu’on se baigne puis, selon la règle, qu’on offre le tarpaṇa (libations) aux dieux et aux ancêtres.

Word by Word

• आश्विनस्य: of (the month) Āśvina
• आश्विनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्विन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘आश्विन’ मासस्य

• सिते: in the bright (white)
• सिते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘पक्षे’ इति विशेषणम्

• पक्षे: fortnight
• पक्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• समाहितः: being composed/attentive
• समाहितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भावे — ‘collected, composed’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — पूर्वक्रिया

• देवान्: the gods
• देवान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy/offer libations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) → तर्पयति (णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विधिपूर्वकम्: according to proper procedure
• विधिपूर्वकम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial accusative)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing instruction within the māhātmya narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānarta-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a sacred waterbody at dawn on Āśvina śukla caturdaśī, bathing and then offering water-libations to devas and pitṛs with kuśa grass, facing the sun, in a calm, rule-bound posture.

Characters & Entities

• Āśvina
• Śukla Pakṣa
• Caturdaśī
• Devas
• Pitṛs
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity of mind and adherence to proper procedure make tīrtha-rites fruitful for both divine and ancestral obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is framed within the adhyāya’s praised setting: Ānarta Tīrtha / Ānartīya Taḍāga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

On Āśvina bright caturdaśī: bathe, then perform deva-tarpaṇa and pitṛ-tarpaṇa according to rule.