Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

चान्द्रायणेन नश्यन्ति शुक्लतीर्थे न संशयः । शुक्लतीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

cāndrāyaṇena naśyanti śuklatīrthe na saṃśayaḥ | śuklatīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

ശുക്ലതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ചാന്ദ്രായണ വ്രതം കൊണ്ടു അവ (പാപങ്ങൾ) നശിക്കുന്നു—ഇതിൽ സംശയമില്ല. ശുക്ലതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് പിതൃദേവതകൾക്ക് തർപ്പണം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ—

Word by Word

• चान्द्रायणेन: by the Cāndrāyaṇa (penance)
• चान्द्रायणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चान्द्रायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• नश्यन्ति: perish; are destroyed
• नश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• शुक्लतीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th case/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• शुक्लतीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy (offer libations to)
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) (causative: तर्पय-)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• पितृदेवताः: the ancestral deities
• पितृदेवताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine; देवता-शब्द), द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clear ritual sequence: dawn at the ghat; the pilgrim bathes, then stands facing south for pitṛ-tarpaṇa with water and sesame; then turns for deva-tarpaṇa; the riverbank is bright (‘śukla’).

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity (vrata) becomes especially potent when performed in a sanctified landscape; place and practice together intensify purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, praised as a locus where expiation and ancestral rites yield strong results.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāndrāyaṇa vrata, bathing (snāna) at Śuklatīrtha, and tarpaṇa to Pitṛs and devas.