Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

पिंडदानं नरस्तस्यां यः करोति द्विजोत्तमाः । पितरस्तस्य संतुष्टास्तर्पिताः पितृतीर्थवत्

Transliteration

piṃḍadānaṃ narastasyāṃ yaḥ karoti dvijottamāḥ | pitarastasya saṃtuṣṭāstarpitāḥ pitṛtīrthavat

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ, അവിടെ പിണ്ഡദാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന മനുഷ്യന്റെ പിതൃകൾ സന്തുഷ്ടരായി തൃപ്തരാകും; പ്രസിദ്ധ പിതൃതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ചെയ്തതുപോലെ തന്നേ ഫലം ലഭിക്കും।

Word by Word

• पिंडदानं: piṇḍa-offering (funeral oblation)
• पिंडदानं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• तस्यां: in that (place)
• तस्यां: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; संकेतक सर्वनाम

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• करोति: does/performs
• करोति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रथमा (vocative sense)

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; संकेतक सर्वनाम

• संतुष्टाः: satisfied
• संतुष्टाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-तुष् (धातु) → संतुष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP)

• तर्पिताः: gratified/propitiated
• तर्पिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृप्/तर्प् (धातु) → तर्पित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (PPP)

• पितृतीर्थवत्: as at the Pitṛ-tīrtha
• पितृतीर्थवत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पितृतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ + तीर्थ) + वत् (अव्यय/तद्धितवत्-प्रयोग)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative indeclinable: 'like/as')

Speaker

Unspecified in the snippet (within Sūta’s narration in Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gāyatrī-tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamāḥ (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee on tīrtha steps offering piṇḍas (rice balls) and sesame-water tarpaṇa; a calm waterbody; priests guiding; subtle depiction of pitṛs receiving offerings in a luminous, ethereal band above.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Gāyatrī-tīrtha (context)
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Remembering and honoring the Pitṛs through proper rites is upheld as a core duty, and tīrthas amplify that merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The praised ‘there’ refers to the chapter’s featured sacred spot—Gāyatrī-tīrtha in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya (Nāgara Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-dāna (ancestral rice-ball offering) and implied tarpaṇa/propitiation of the Pitṛs.