Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तिलहेमप्रदानं च पिण्डदानं च तत्र वै । पितॄनुद्दिश्य दद्याद्वै तेषां प्रेतत्वमुक्तये

Transliteration

tilahemapradānaṃ ca piṇḍadānaṃ ca tatra vai | pitṝnuddiśya dadyādvai teṣāṃ pretatvamuktaye

Translation

അവിടെ പിതൃങ്ങളെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ച് എള്ളും സ്വർണ്ണവും ദാനം ചെയ്യുകയും പിണ്ഡദാനം അർപ്പിക്കുകയും വേണം; അതുവഴി അവർ പ്രേതത്വത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതരാകും।

Word by Word

• तिलहेमप्रदानम्: offering of sesame and gold
• तिलहेमप्रदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + हेम (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; समासः—तिलस्य हेमस्य च प्रदानम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/समाहारार्थे)

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

• पिण्डदानम्: offering of funeral rice-balls
• पिण्डदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; समासः—पिण्डस्य दानम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

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

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/खल्वर्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

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

• उद्दिश्य: having intended/for (them)
• उद्दिश्य: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उद्+दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘उद्दिश्य’ = उद्दिश् धातोः क्त्वा; अर्थः—उद्देश्य/प्रयोजनं कृत्वा

• दद्याद्: should give
• दद्याद्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/खल्वर्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्रेतत्वमुक्तये: for release from the state of being a preta
• प्रेतत्वमुक्तये: Sampradana (Purpose/Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेतत्व (प्रातिपदिक) + मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; समासः—प्रेतत्वस्य मुक्तिः/मुक्तये (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Māhātmya (contextual Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (pitṛ-kārya spot within the kṣetra)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the Prabhāsa shore/near a sacred water spot, a householder offers piṇḍas and tila with solemn devotion, invoking Pitṛs; priests guide the rite; the mood is compassionate and liberative.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred giving and ancestor-offerings performed at a holy place are upheld as powerful acts of compassion that aid the departed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, within the Bhūtanātheśvara Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tila-dāna (sesame charity), hema-dāna (gold charity), and piṇḍa-dāna dedicated to the Pitṛs for release from preta-condition.