Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

आश्विनस्य सिते पक्षे चतुर्दश्यां समाहितः । स्नात्वा देवान्पितॄंश्चैव तर्पयेद्विधिपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

āśvinasya site pakṣe caturdaśyāṃ samāhitaḥ | snātvā devānpitṝṃścaiva tarpayedvidhipūrvakam

Translation

ആശ്വിന മാസത്തിലെ ശുക്ലപക്ഷ ചതുര്ദശിയിൽ മനസ്സിനെ ഏകാഗ്രമാക്കി സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത്, വിധിപൂർവം ദേവന്മാർക്കും പിതൃകൾക്കും തർപ്പണം അർപ്പിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• आश्विनस्य: of (the month) Āśvina
• आश्विनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्विन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘आश्विन’ मासस्य

• सिते: in the bright (white)
• सिते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘पक्षे’ इति विशेषणम्

• पक्षे: fortnight
• पक्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• समाहितः: being composed/attentive
• समाहितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भावे — ‘collected, composed’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — पूर्वक्रिया

• देवान्: the gods
• देवान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy/offer libations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) → तर्पयति (णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विधिपूर्वकम्: according to proper procedure
• विधिपूर्वकम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial accusative)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing instruction within the māhātmya narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ānarta-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a sacred waterbody at dawn on Āśvina śukla caturdaśī, bathing and then offering water-libations to devas and pitṛs with kuśa grass, facing the sun, in a calm, rule-bound posture.

Characters & Entities

• Āśvina
• Śukla Pakṣa
• Caturdaśī
• Devas
• Pitṛs
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity of mind and adherence to proper procedure make tīrtha-rites fruitful for both divine and ancestral obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is framed within the adhyāya’s praised setting: Ānarta Tīrtha / Ānartīya Taḍāga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

On Āśvina bright caturdaśī: bathe, then perform deva-tarpaṇa and pitṛ-tarpaṇa according to rule.