Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

अमावास्यादिनं प्राप्य मासि भाद्रपदे सरः । ब्रह्मणो यष्टिकायां तु यः कुर्यात्पितृतर्पणम्

Transliteration

amāvāsyādinaṃ prāpya māsi bhādrapade saraḥ | brahmaṇo yaṣṭikāyāṃ tu yaḥ kuryātpitṛtarpaṇam

Translation

No dia de Amāvasyā (lua nova), no mês de Bhādrapada, quem realizar o tarpaṇa—oferta de água—aos Pitṛs no lago sagrado chamado Yaṣṭikā, o Bastão de Brahmā, alcança o mérito especial desse tīrtha.

Word by Word

• अमावास्या-दिनम्: the day of new moon
• अमावास्या-दिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अमावास्यायाः दिनम्)

• प्राप्य: having reached/after arriving
• प्राप्य: Kriya (Absolutive/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; धातुः—प्राप् (लभ्/गम्-अर्थ)

• मासि: in the month
• मासि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• भाद्रपदे: in Bhādrapada (month)
• भाद्रपदे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाद्रपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• सरः: at the lake/pond
• सरः: Adhikarana/Place (Locative sense implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देश), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• यष्टिकायाम्: at/on the staff (place called Yaṣṭikā)
• यष्टिकायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यष्टिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितृ-तर्पणम्: offering of satisfaction to the ancestors (libation)
• पितृ-तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक; √तृप्-णिच्/भाव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां तर्पणम्)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative context of Dharmāraṇya-khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahma-Yaṣṭikā-saras

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at dawn on amāvāsyā stands at a still sacred lake, offering water with cupped hands toward the south, with a staff-emblem of Brahmā indicated near the tīrtha; subtle presence of unseen pitṛs receiving the offering.

Characters & Entities

• Amāvāsyā
• Bhādrapada
• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Yaṣṭikā (Brahma-yaṣṭikā)
• Saraḥ (sacred lake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right time (Amāvāsyā) and right place (a famed tīrtha) intensify the fruit of Pitṛ-dharma performed with devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred lake/tīrtha called Brahmā’s Yaṣṭikā (Brahma-yaṣṭikā) within the Dharmāraṇya sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (ancestor libations) to be performed on Amāvāsyā in the month of Bhādrapada at that lake.