Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

करिष्यन्त्यत्र ये श्राद्धं पित्ःणां नर्मदातटे । कुम्भेश्वरसमीपस्थास्तत्फलं शृणु षण्मुख

Transliteration

kariṣyantyatra ye śrāddhaṃ pitḥṇāṃ narmadātaṭe | kumbheśvarasamīpasthāstatphalaṃ śṛṇu ṣaṇmukha

Translation

ഇവിടെ നർമദാതീരത്ത് കുംഭേശ്വരന്റെ സമീപത്ത് പാർത്തു പിതൃകൾക്കായി ശ്രാദ്ധം ചെയ്യുന്നവർ നേടുന്ന ഫലം കേൾക്കുക, ഹേ ഷൺമുഖാ।

Word by Word

• करिष्यन्ति: will perform
• करिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• पितॄणाम्: for the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sampradana (Beneficiary sense/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• नर्मदातटे: on the bank of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातटे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा-तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः तटः)

• कुम्भेश्वरसमीपस्थाः: being near Kumbheśvara
• कुम्भेश्वरसमीपस्थाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुम्भेश्वर-समীপ-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कुम्भेश्वरस्य समीपे स्थाः)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण (to फलम्)

• फलम्: result, fruit
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• शृणु: hear
• शृणु: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• षण्मुख: O Six-faced one (Kārttikeya)
• षण्मुख: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (षण् मुखानि यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (self-referential address indicates an embedded dialogue; likely narrator continues and addresses/mentions Ṣaṇmukha as Skanda epithet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kumbheśvara-tīrtha on Narmadā-tata

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṣaṇmukha (Skanda) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet Narmadā bank at dawn; a householder with kusa grass and a small plate of piṇḍas performs śrāddha; nearby rises the Kumbheśvara shrine with a flag and bell; a priest instructs; offerings float as tila-jala into the current.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)
• Narmadā
• Kumbheśvara
• Ṣaṇmukha (Skanda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral duties (pitṛ-dharma) performed at a powerful tīrtha become exceptionally fruitful and enduring.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā riverbank tīrtha in the immediate vicinity of Kumbheśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing śrāddha for the Pitṛs at Narmadā-taṭa near Kumbheśvara.