Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

तस्मिंस्तीर्थे त्वमावास्यां पितॄनुद्दिश्य भारत । नीलं सर्वाङ्गसम्पूर्णं योऽभिषिच्य समुत्सृजेत्

Transliteration

tasmiṃstīrthe tvamāvāsyāṃ pitṝnuddiśya bhārata | nīlaṃ sarvāṅgasampūrṇaṃ yo'bhiṣicya samutsṛjet

Translation

Wahai Bhārata, pada hari bulan baru di tīrtha itu, dengan meniatkan bagi para Pitṛ, siapa yang memandikan (abhiseka) lalu melepaskan seekor lembu jantan ‘nīla’ yang utuh anggota tubuhnya dalam upacara vṛṣotsarga, ia menegakkan dharma leluhur yang amat luhur.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

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

• अमावास्याम्: on the new-moon day
• अमावास्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

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

• उद्दिश्य: having dedicated (it) to / addressing
• उद्दिश्य: Sambandha (Purpose/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उद् + √दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभावरूप (gerund/absolutive), 'having intended/addressed'

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• नीलम्: a dark-blue/black (one)
• नीलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; (वृषम्/पशुम् इत्यनुक्तं कर्म) विशेषणम्

• सर्वाङ्गसम्पूर्णम्: complete in all limbs (well-formed)
• सर्वाङ्गसम्पूर्णम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषप्रायः (सर्वाणि अङ्गानि यस्य/यत्र सम्पूर्णम्); पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; नीलम् इति विशेषण-सहचरम्

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• अभिषिच्य: having anointed/sprinkled (it)
• अभिषिच्य: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभि + √सिच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• समुत्सृजेत्: should release/let go (set free)
• समुत्सृजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + √सृज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator addressing a listener as ‘Bhārata’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (specific ford implied)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a river ford on amāvāsyā twilight, a priest sprinkles water on a robust dark-blue/black (‘nīla’) bull adorned with a simple garland; the donor releases it toward open pasture while offering pitṛ-tarpaṇa at the riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Amāvāsyā
• Tīrtha
• Revā (Narmadā) context
• Vṛṣotsarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral obligation (pitṛ-ṛṇa) is honored through tīrtha-based rites performed with intention and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha associated with the Revā/Narmadā sacred geography (exact named ford not present in this verse excerpt).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vṛṣotsarga: consecrating (abhiṣeka) and releasing a healthy ‘nīla’ bull on Amāvāsyā, dedicated to the Pitṛs.