Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

पितुः कुलं मातृकुलं तथा भार्याकुलं नृप । कुलत्रयं समुद्धृत्य स्वर्गं नयति वै नरः

Transliteration

pituḥ kulaṃ mātṛkulaṃ tathā bhāryākulaṃ nṛpa | kulatrayaṃ samuddhṛtya svargaṃ nayati vai naraḥ

Translation

Wahai raja, seorang insan mengangkat tiga susur galur—keturunan bapa, keturunan ibu, dan juga keturunan isteri—lalu sesungguhnya menuntun mereka menuju syurga.

Word by Word

• pituḥ: of (one’s) father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), एकवचनम्

• kulaṃ: family/lineage
• kulaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• mātṛ-kulaṃ: mother’s family
• mātṛ-kulaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (mother’s family)

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb)

• bhāryā-kulaṃ: wife’s family
• bhāryā-kulaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (wife’s family)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• kula-trayaṃ: the three families
• kula-trayaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (three families)

• samuddhṛtya: having uplifted/rescued
• samuddhṛtya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ud-√dhṛ (धृ धातु) (कृदन्त; ल्यप्/त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive)

• svargaṃ: to heaven
• svargaṃ: Gati/Karma (Goal as object/गति-लक्ष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• nayati: leads
• nayati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (नी धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle; emphasis)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (contextual deduction)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king listens as a sage explains ‘three lineages’; behind them appear three ancestral streams—father’s, mother’s, wife’s—rising like luminous genealogical trees toward svarga.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga
• Kulatraya (three lineages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Personal dharma has communal consequences: righteous rites and offerings can elevate not only oneself but interconnected family lines.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Tilādeśvara tīrtha-māhātmya of the Revā Khaṇḍa, though it states a broader śrāddha principle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, śrāddha/ancestral merit-making is recommended as the means by which one ‘uplifts’ the three lineages.