Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 137

Devanagari script

तिलाः श्वेतास्तिलाः कृष्णाः सर्वपापहरास्तिलाः । तिलद्रोणप्रदानेनु संसारश्छिद्यतां मम

Transliteration

tilāḥ śvetāstilāḥ kṛṣṇāḥ sarvapāpaharāstilāḥ | tiladroṇapradānenu saṃsāraśchidyatāṃ mama

Translation

Bijan—bijan putih, bijan hitam—segala bijan menghapuskan semua dosa. Dengan sedekah satu droṇa bijan, semoga ikatan samsara-ku terputus.

Word by Word

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

• śvetāḥ: white
• śvetāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

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

• kṛṣṇāḥ: black
• kṛṣṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

• sarvapāpaharāḥ: removers of all sins
• sarvapāpaharāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘सर्वेषां पापानां हराः’ विशेषणम् (तिलाः)

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

• tiladroṇapradānena: by the donation of a droṇa of sesame
• tiladroṇapradānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + droṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः ‘तिल-द्रोण-प्रदान’

• nu: indeed/now (particle)
• nu: Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/pleading particle)

• saṃsāraḥ: cycle of rebirth
• saṃsāraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• chidyatām: may it be cut off
• chidyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √chid (छिद् ‘to cut’)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

• mama: of me/my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Ritual reciter/devotee (mantra-voice within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two heaps of sesame—white and black—are shown before a Śiva altar; the donor joins palms, uttering a prayer for the cutting of saṃsāra; a measuring vessel indicates the droṇa donation.

Characters & Entities

• tila (sesame)
• saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered with prayer transforms ritual into a liberation-oriented act—seeking freedom from saṃsāra, not mere worldly gain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revākhaṇḍa context is present, but this verse is a general dāna-mantra teaching rather than site-specific praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recite a prayer/mantra while giving a droṇa-measure of sesame, invoking sin-destruction and release from saṃsāra.