Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

सावित्री च तिलाः प्रोक्ता सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः । तिलैस्तु तर्पणं कुर्याच्चातुर्मास्ये विशेषतः

Transliteration

sāvitrī ca tilāḥ proktā sarvakāryārthasādhakāḥ | tilaistu tarpaṇaṃ kuryāccāturmāsye viśeṣataḥ

Translation

സാവിത്രിയും എള്ളും—ഇവ രണ്ടും എല്ലാ കാര്യാർത്ഥങ്ങളും സാധിപ്പിക്കുന്നവയെന്നു ഉപദേശിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ചാതുർമാസ്യത്തിൽ എള്ളുകൊണ്ട് തർപ്പണം ചെയ്യണം.

Word by Word

• सावित्री: Sāvitrī (a sacred formula/ देवी)
• सावित्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सावित्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• तिलाः: sesame seeds
• तिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्रोक्ताः: are declared
• प्रोक्ताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √वच् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘declared’

• सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः: accomplishers of all purposes and tasks
• सर्वकार्यार्थसाधकाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + कार्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + साधक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां कार्याणाम् अर्थानां च साधकाः)

• तिलैः: with sesame seeds
• तिलैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle)

• तर्पणम्: libation/oblatory offering (tarpana)
• तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified (Tīrthamāhātmya narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn by a river/kuṇḍa, a pilgrim performs tarpaṇa: water streams through fingers with sesame floating, while silently reciting Sāvitrī.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Tila (sesame)
• Tarpaṇa
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right-time ritual (kāla) and right-substance (dravya) together make worship and ancestral rites especially efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the emphasis is on Cāturmāsya-time observance within a tīrtha-mahātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform tarpaṇa using sesame, with special emphasis during Cāturmāsya.