Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तं पश्य निहतं तातं गतासुं गतचेतसम् । संस्कृत्य विधिवत्पुत्र तर्पयस्व यथातथम्

Transliteration

taṃ paśya nihataṃ tātaṃ gatāsuṃ gatacetasam | saṃskṛtya vidhivatputra tarpayasva yathātatham

Translation

ജീവനും ബോധവും നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട നിന്റെ പിതാവിനെ നോക്കൂ. മകനേ, വിധിപ്രകാരം അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് അന്ത്യകർമ്മങ്ങൾ ചെയ്ത് യഥാവിധി തർപ്പണം ചെയ്യുക.

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Pronoun, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• पश्य: see
• पश्य: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Imperative, 2nd person singular

• निहतम्: killed
• निहतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Past passive participle used adjectivally

• तातम्: father (dear father)
• तातम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• गतासुम्: lifeless
• गतासुम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + असु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (असु-गत = प्राण-गत); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘whose life has gone’

• गतचेतसम्: senseless/unconscious
• गतचेतसम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘whose consciousness has departed’

• संस्कृत्य: having performed the funeral rites
• संस्कृत्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-स्कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) — Absolutive: ‘having performed rites/arranged’

• विधिवत्: according to the proper procedure
• विधिवत्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण — Indeclinable adverb ‘according to rule’

• पुत्र: O son
• पुत्र: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तर्पयस्व: offer satisfaction (libations)
• तर्पयस्व: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Imperative: ‘satisfy/offer libations’

• यथातथम्: as is proper / in due manner
• यथातथम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-समास (यथा-तथा); क्रियाविशेषण — Indeclinable adverb ‘in whatever way/appropriately’

Speaker

Mother of Rāma (Paraśurāma) (implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) ghat/tīra

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king) in the listening frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The mother instructs the son beside the lifeless body; ritual items—water pot, darbha grass, sesame—are suggested, with the river as witness to dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Father of Rāma
• Tarpana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Filial piety is dharma: honoring ancestors through proper rites sustains familial and cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is cited in this verse; the Revā Khaṇḍa context broadly aligns with Narmadā-region sacred practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Funerary observances and tarpaṇa (libations to satisfy the departed) performed vidhivat—according to scriptural rule.