Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

अत्र तीर्थे सुतोऽभ्येत्य स्नात्वा तोयं प्रदास्यति । श्राद्धं वा पिण्डदानं वा तेन यास्याम सद्गतिम्

Transliteration

atra tīrthe suto'bhyetya snātvā toyaṃ pradāsyati | śrāddhaṃ vā piṇḍadānaṃ vā tena yāsyāma sadgatim

Translation

‘இந்தத் தீர்த்தத்திற்கு எங்கள் மகன் வந்து நீராடி நீர்தர்ப்பணம் அளிப்பான். அவன் ஸ்ராத்தம் செய்தாலும் பிண்டதானம் செய்தாலும்—அதனால் நாங்கள் சத்கதியை அடைவோம்.’

Word by Word

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

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सुतः: son
• सुतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभ्येत्य: having come/approached
• अभ्येत्य: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभि-इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable) — ‘having come/approached’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive), अव्ययभाव — ‘having bathed’

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रदास्यति: will offer/give
• प्रदास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle ‘or’)

• पिण्डदानम्: offering of piṇḍas (rice-balls)
• पिण्डदानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); पिण्डस्य दानम् (offering of rice-balls)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• तेन: by that / through that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masc/Neut), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• यास्याम: we shall go/attain
• यास्याम: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• सद्गतिम्: good state/destination
• सद्गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक) + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); सत्-गति = शुभा गति (good destination)

Speaker

Narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa (traditional attribution: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing ṛṣis; voiced as the Pitṛs’ expectation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A son arrives at a river ford, bathes, then offers arghya/tarpaṇa; nearby, subtle pitṛs brighten and rise, indicating ‘sadgati’ as the rite is performed.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Snāna
• Toya (water offering)
• Śrāddha
• Piṇḍadāna
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and ancestral rites at a tīrtha are portrayed as direct means to uplift one’s forebears to a better posthumous state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha referenced as ‘atra tīrthe’ in Revā-khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 146.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Come to the tīrtha, bathe, offer water (tarpaṇa), and perform śrāddha and/or piṇḍadāna.