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

ഹേ ഭാരത, ആ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ അമാവാസി ദിനത്തിൽ പിതൃകളെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ച്, സർവാംഗസമ്പൂർണ്ണമായ ‘നീല’ വൃഷഭത്തെ അഭിഷേകം ചെയ്ത് പിന്നെ വൃഷോത്സർഗമായി വിട്ടയക്കുന്നവൻ।

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.