Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

सावित्री च तिलाः प्रोक्ता सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः । तिलैस्तु तर्पणं कुर्याच्चातुर्मास्ये विशेषतः

Transliteration

sāvitrī ca tilāḥ proktā sarvakāryārthasādhakāḥ | tilaistu tarpaṇaṃ kuryāccāturmāsye viśeṣataḥ

Translation

On enseigne que Sāvitrī et le sésame accomplissent toutes les œuvres et tous les buts. Qu’on fasse le tarpaṇa avec du sésame, surtout durant le Cāturmāsya.

Word by Word

• सावित्री: Sāvitrī (a sacred formula/ देवी)
• सावित्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सावित्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• तिलाः: sesame seeds
• तिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्रोक्ताः: are declared
• प्रोक्ताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √वच् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘declared’

• सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः: accomplishers of all purposes and tasks
• सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + कार्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां कार्याणाम् अर्थानां च साधकाः)

• तिलैः: with sesame seeds
• तिलैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle)

• तर्पणम्: libation/oblatory offering (tarpana)
• तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified (Tīrthamāhātmya narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn by a river/kuṇḍa, a pilgrim performs tarpaṇa: water streams through fingers with sesame floating, while silently reciting Sāvitrī.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Tila (sesame)
• Tarpaṇa
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right-time ritual (kāla) and right-substance (dravya) together make worship and ancestral rites especially efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the emphasis is on Cāturmāsya-time observance within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform tarpaṇa using sesame, with special emphasis during Cāturmāsya.