Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

त्वदन्वये विना नाम्ना त्वदीयेन विमोहिताः । ये पितॄंस्तर्पयिष्यंति तेषां व्यर्थं भविष्यति

Transliteration

tvadanvaye vinā nāmnā tvadīyena vimohitāḥ | ye pitṝṃstarpayiṣyaṃti teṣāṃ vyarthaṃ bhaviṣyati

Translation

Namun, dalam garis keturunanmu, siapa pun yang karena kebingungan melakukan tarpaṇa kepada para leluhur tanpa menyebut namamu—tarpaṇa itu akan menjadi sia-sia bagi mereka.

Word by Word

• त्वत्-अन्वये: in your lineage
• त्वत्-अन्वये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + anvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; अधिकरण (loc. sg. ‘in your lineage’)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Exclusion/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वर्जनार्थक उपपद (preposition-like indeclinable: ‘without’)

• नाम्ना: by the name
• नाम्ना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; करण (instr. sg. ‘by/with the name’)

• त्वदीयेन: by yours, by your (name)
• त्वदीयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvadīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण (instr. sg. ‘by your/pertaining to you’)

• विमोहिताः: deluded
• विमोहिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + √muh (मुह् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; कर्तृसमाना विशेषण (nom. pl. ‘deluded/confused’)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun: ‘those who’)

• पितṝन्: the ancestors
• पितṝन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन; कर्म (acc. pl. ‘ancestors’)

• तर्पयिष्यन्ति: will offer satisfaction (tarpaṇa)
• तर्पयिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṛp (तृप् धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘will satisfy (with offerings)’

• तेषाम्: of them, their
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (gen. pl. ‘of them/their’)

• व्यर्थम्: futile, in vain
• व्यर्थम्: Karta (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyartha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective: ‘futile’)

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘will be’

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern admonition scene: an elder/ṛṣi warns descendants; in parallel, a ritual performer is shown offering water but a symbolic ‘broken thread’ or fading ancestral figure indicates fruitlessness due to omitted name.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual efficacy depends on right remembrance and proper invocation; omission of the intended divine name undermines the rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate focus is ritual correctness within a tīrthamāhātmya discourse; no single tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During tarpaṇa, one must not omit the required name-invocation indicated by the passage.