Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

श्वैतैस्तैस्तारयेत्सर्वान्पितॄन्नरकगानपि

Transliteration

śvaitaistaistārayetsarvānpitṝnnarakagānapi

Translation

Par ces offrandes blanches, on peut délivrer tous les ancêtres, même ceux qui sont allés en enfer.

Word by Word

• श्वैतैः: by the white (means/rites)
• श्वैतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वैत (प्रातिपदिक; श्वेत-सम्बन्धि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन (Masc.; Instr. pl.)

• तैः: by those
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया बहुवचन (Masc.; Instr. pl.; demonstrative)

• तारयेत्: should deliver/save
• तारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तॄ (धातु; तारणे)
• Form: विधिलिङ्; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Optative; 3rd person; sg.; Parasmaipada)

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन (Masc.; Acc. pl.)

• पितॄन्: ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन (Masc.; Acc. pl.)

• नरक-गान्: gone to hell
• नरक-गान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक) + ग (कृदन्त; √गम्—गत्यर्थ, क्विप्/अच्; ‘going’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमास (Masc.; Acc. pl.; ‘those who have gone to hell’)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अप्यर्थक-निपात (indeclinable; ‘also/even’)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers white-colored piṇḍa/tarpaṇa (symbolic whiteness) at the tīrtha; subtle ancestral figures rise from a dark realm toward light, indicating deliverance from naraka.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Naraka (hell)
• Śuklatīrtha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-linked rites can extend compassion beyond oneself, benefiting even suffering ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha (by context), whose ‘śukla/white’ potency is tied to ancestral uplift.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ancestral deliverance is connected to using ‘śvaita’ (white/purified) means—suggestive of tīrtha-derived materials used in pitṛ rites.