Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 180

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां वा चतुर्दश्यां वैशाखे मासि पूर्ववत् । दीपं पिष्टमयं कृत्वा पितॄन् सर्वान् विमोक्षयेत्

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ vā caturdaśyāṃ vaiśākhe māsi pūrvavat | dīpaṃ piṣṭamayaṃ kṛtvā pitṝn sarvān vimokṣayet

Translation

वैशाख महिन्यात अष्टमी किंवा चतुर्दशीला, पूर्वीच्या विधीप्रमाणे, पिठाचा दीप करून सर्व पितरांना मुक्ती मिळवावी।

Word by Word

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth (tithi)
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (alternative particle)

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth (tithi)
• caturdaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• vaiśākhe: in (the month of) Vaiśākha
• vaiśākhe: Adhikaraṇa (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśākha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pūrvavat: as before
• pūrvavat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvavat (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb), तुल्यार्थक (meaning 'as before')

• dīpam: a lamp
• dīpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• piṣṭamayam: made of flour/dough
• piṣṭamayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: piṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (material: piṣṭa-maya), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (adjective) dīpam प्रति

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तृसापेक्ष (having done)

• pitṝn: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• sarvān: all
• sarvān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (adjective) pitṝn प्रति

• vimokṣayet: should liberate
• vimokṣayet: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√muc (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (instructional narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhārabhūtyā (Revā-khaṇḍa tirtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Narmadā-side ghāṭ in Vaiśākha twilight, a devotee shapes a small lamp from dough, sets a cotton wick, lights it, and offers it with water-libations while invoking the lineage of ancestors; the river glows with many floating lights.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśākha
• aṣṭamī
• caturdaśī
• dīpa
• pitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage dharma includes gratitude to lineage—acts of light-offering are portrayed as aiding the pitṛs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revākhaṇḍa Narmadā tīrtha context remains the setting for these pitṛ-oriented rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

On Vaiśākha aṣṭamī or caturdaśī, make a piṣṭamaya dīpa (dough lamp) as an offering for pitṛ-mokṣa.