Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

नीलोत्सर्गविधिं यस्तु रविक्षेत्रे करोति वै । पितरस्तृप्तिमायांति यावदाभूतसंप्लवम्

Transliteration

nīlotsargavidhiṃ yastu ravikṣetre karoti vai | pitarastṛptimāyāṃti yāvadābhūtasaṃplavam

Translation

രവിക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ നീലോത്സർഗവിധി ആരെങ്കിലും നിർവഹിച്ചാൽ, അവന്റെ പിതൃക്കൾ മഹാപ്രളയം വരെയും തൃപ്തി പ്രാപിക്കും।

Word by Word

• nīlotsargavidhiṃ: the rite of nīlotsarga (blue-offering/blue-release rite)
• nīlotsargavidhiṃ: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīla + utsarga + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• ravikṣetre: in the Ravi sacred field
• ravikṣetre: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• karoti: does/performs
• karoti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vai: certainly
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (particle: indeed/certainly)

• pitaraḥ: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tṛptim: satisfaction
• tṛptim: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• āyānti: attain/come to
• āyānti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā- + √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative/limitative): यावत् = as long as/until

• ābhūtasaṃplavam: until the cosmic dissolution
• ābhūtasaṃplavam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā + bhūta + saṃplava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावसमासः (ā- as upasarga/avyaya)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ravikṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs nīlotsarga at Ravikṣetra: offerings near water, blue-hued symbolic element (nīla) released/consigned as per rite; ancestors appear subtly in the sky, receiving satisfaction; the sun presides overhead.

Characters & Entities

• Ravikṣetra
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Nīlotsarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rites performed at a consecrated sthala are said to yield enduring benefits for one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ravikṣetra (the Sun’s sacred precinct) associated with Ravikuṇḍa and Bakulārka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of the nīlotsarga-vidhi as an ancestral-benefit rite in Ravikṣetra.