Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

सनीरं कर्पुरोपेतं कुंभं कृष्णाग्रतो न्यसेत् । कल्पांते न जलापेक्षां कुर्वंति च पितामहाः

Transliteration

sanīraṃ karpuropetaṃ kuṃbhaṃ kṛṣṇāgrato nyaset | kalpāṃte na jalāpekṣāṃ kurvaṃti ca pitāmahāḥ

Translation

Qu’on dépose devant Kṛṣṇa un pot rempli d’eau, parfumé au camphre ; ainsi, jusqu’à la fin du kalpa, ses ancêtres ne souffriront pas du manque d’eau.

Word by Word

• सनीरम्: filled with water; with water
• सनीरम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-नीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘कुम्भम्’)

• कर्पूरोपेतम्: accompanied by camphor
• कर्पूरोपेतम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्पूर-उपेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (कर्पूरेण उपेतः)

• कुम्भम्: a pot; pitcher
• कुम्भम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कृष्णाग्रतः: in front of Krishna
• कृष्णाग्रतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृष्ण-अग्रतस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place); अव्ययीभाव (कृष्णस्य अग्रतः)

• न्यसेत्: should place; should set down
• न्यसेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-स्था/सद् (धातु; ‘न्यस्’ = नि+अस्/स्यन्द्?; प्रचलितः √अस्/√न्यस् ‘to place’)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• कल्पान्ते: at the end of the aeon
• कल्पान्ते: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प-अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• जलापेक्षाम्: need for water
• जलापेक्षाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल-अपेक्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (जलस्य अपेक्षा)

• कुर्वन्ति: do; make; have
• कुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

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

• पितामहाः: grandfathers; ancestors
• पितामहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a sanctified Dvārakā shrine-courtyard, a devotee places a shining water-filled kumbha before Kṛṣṇa; camphor scent rises as a cool, translucent aura, while subtle ancestral figures appear soothed in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇa
• Pitṛs
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through life-sustaining gifts like water becomes lasting welfare for one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, where offerings made before Kṛṣṇa are said to generate enduring benefits.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Placing a water-filled kumbha, scented with camphor, before Kṛṣṇa (a form of jala-dāna/upacāra).