Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

प्राप्नुवंति विदेशे च जन्म ये हेतुवादकाः । नित्यं तर्पणदानेन तेषां तृप्तिः प्रजायते

Transliteration

prāpnuvaṃti videśe ca janma ye hetuvādakāḥ | nityaṃ tarpaṇadānena teṣāṃ tṛptiḥ prajāyate

Translation

Ceux qui sont des hetuvādins (rationalistes querelleurs) naissent en terres étrangères ; pourtant, par l’offrande quotidienne du tarpaṇa-dāna, la satisfaction leur advient (en tant qu’ancêtres).

Word by Word

• प्राप्नुवन्ति: they obtain
• प्राप्नुवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• विदेशे: in a foreign land
• विदेशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-संबन्ध) — conjunction ‘and’

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; relative pronoun ‘who’

• हेतुवादकाः: proponents of hetuvāda (causalist/materialist arguers)
• हेतुवादकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेतुवादक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—हेतुवादं वदन्ति इति (those who propound ‘hetuvāda’)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — always

• तर्पणदानेन: by offerings and gifts
• तर्पणदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः—तर्पणं च दानं च

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• तृप्तिः: satisfaction
• तृप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रजायते: arises
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘comes into being/arises’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a riverbank tīrtha offers tarpaṇa: cupped hands pour water with sesame while invoking pitṛs; subtle silhouettes of ancestors appear appeased, with distant foreign landscapes symbolizing 'videśa-janma'.

Characters & Entities

• Tarpaṇa
• Pitṛs (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldview and conduct shape rebirth conditions; consistent ancestral rites (tarpaṇa) are upheld as efficacious for the departed’s well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in the verse; it is a general dharma statement within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nitya tarpaṇa-dāna—regular libations/offerings to ancestors.