Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततः प्रभाते ह्युषसि संस्नात्वा नर्मदाजले । संतर्प्य पितृदेवांश्च तिलैर्यवविमिश्रितैः

Transliteration

tataḥ prabhāte hyuṣasi saṃsnātvā narmadājale | saṃtarpya pitṛdevāṃśca tilairyavavimiśritaiḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് പ്രഭാത ഉഷസ്സിൽ നർമദാജലത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത്, എള്ളും യവവും കലർത്തിയ അർപ്പണത്തോടെ പിതൃന്മാരെയും ദേവന്മാരെയും സന്തർപ്പിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereafter)

• prabhāte: at dawn/morning
• prabhāte: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis)

• uṣasi: at daybreak
• uṣasi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uṣas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• saṃsnātvā: having bathed
• saṃsnātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √snā (स्ना) (धातु) → saṃsnātvā (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having bathed)

• narmadā-jale: in the waters of the Narmadā
• narmadā-jale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (in the water of Narmadā)

• saṃtarpya: having satisfied (offered)
• saṃtarpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + √tṛp (तृप्) (धातु) → saṃtarpya (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having satisfied/propitiated)

• pitṛ-devān: the ancestors and the gods
• pitṛ-devān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (the Pitṛs and the Devas)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (and)

• tilaiḥ: with sesame seeds
• tilaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन

• yava-vimiśritaiḥ: mixed with barley
• yava-vimiśritaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yava (प्रातिपदिक) + vimiśrita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (mixed with barley); विशेषण (tilaiḥ)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Revākhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā snāna (linked to Pañca-Varāha observance)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dawn on the Narmadā: pale light, mist over water; pilgrims waist-deep performing snāna; then offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands, sesame and barley visible; nearby, the Varāha temple silhouette.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)
• Pitṛs
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed by gratitude—honoring gods and ancestors through prescribed offerings after sacred bathing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā (Revā) river as a purifying tīrtha in the Revākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dawn bath in Narmadā followed by tarpaṇa to Pitṛs and Devas using sesame mixed with barley.