Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । संप्राप्य धर्मवाप्यां च यः कुर्यात्पितृतर्पणम् । तृप्तिं प्रयांति पितरो यावदिंद्राश्चतुर्दश

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | saṃprāpya dharmavāpyāṃ ca yaḥ kuryātpitṛtarpaṇam | tṛptiṃ prayāṃti pitaro yāvadiṃdrāścaturdaśa

Translation

വ്യാസൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ധർമവാപിയിൽ എത്തി ആരെങ്കിലും പിതൃതർപ്പണം ചെയ്താൽ, അവന്റെ പിതാക്കന്മാർ ചതുര്ദശ ഇന്ദ്രന്മാർ നിലനിൽക്കുന്ന കാലംവരെ തൃപ്തി പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• saṃprāpya: having reached/obtained
• saṃprāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saṃprāpya (कृदन्त; √prāp प्राप् ‘to obtain/reach’ with sam-)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/Absolutive), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable)

• dharmavāpyām: the Dharmavāpī (sacred pond)
• dharmavāpyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vāpī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (Accusative singular); तत्पुरुष (‘dharma-pond’, name of a sacred pond)

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

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular); सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• pitṛ-tarpaṇam: ancestor-offering (tarpaṇa)
• pitṛ-tarpaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; from √tṛp तृप् ‘to satisfy’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (Accusative singular); तत्पुरुष (‘satisfaction-offering to the ancestors’)

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

• prayānti: attain/go to
• prayānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या) with pra-
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (3rd person plural)

• pitaraḥ: the ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• yāvat: as long as/until
• yāvat: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारः: परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक (until/as long as)

• indrāḥ: Indras (lords of heaven)
• indrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• caturdaśa: fourteen
• caturdaśa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्/संख्याशब्द; प्रथमा-बहुवचनार्थे (numeral used adjectivally: ‘fourteen’)

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmavāpī

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa speaks while a pilgrim stands at a stone-lined vāpī, offering water-libations with cupped hands; subtle presence of Pitṛs receiving the offering, indicated by faint ancestral silhouettes above the water.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Dharmavāpī
• Pitṛs
• Indra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestor offerings performed at a sanctified tīrtha yield extraordinary and enduring spiritual benefit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmavāpī, a sacred water-site within the Dharmāraṇya tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa—offering water/libations to the ancestors upon reaching Dharmavāpī.