Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा शुचिर्भूत्वा ब्रह्मचारी जितेन्द्रियः । पितृकार्यं प्रकुर्वीत विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा

Transliteration

tatra snātvā śucirbhūtvā brahmacārī jitendriyaḥ | pitṛkāryaṃ prakurvīta vidhidṛṣṭena karmaṇā

Translation

அங்கே நீராடி தூய்மையடைந்து, பிரம்மச்சாரியாகவும் இந்திரியங்களை அடக்கியும் இருந்து, சாஸ்திர விதி ஒப்புக்கொண்ட முறையின்படி பித்ருகாரியத்தைச் செய்ய வேண்டும்.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund)

• śuciḥ: pure
• śuciḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (कर्ता-विशेषण)

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund)

• brahmacārī: a celibate student (brahmacārin)
• brahmacārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्

• jita-indriyaḥ: one who has conquered the senses
• jita-indriyaḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jita (कृदन्त; √ji जि + क्त) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः (जितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य सः)

• pitṛ-kāryam: rite/duty for the ancestors
• pitṛ-kāryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां कार्यम्)

• prakurvīta: should perform
• prakurvīta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्

• vidhi-dṛṣṭena: by the act prescribed by rule
• vidhi-dṛṣṭena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त; √dṛś दृश् + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्; तृतीया-सम्बन्धः; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (विधिना दृष्टम्)

• karmaṇā: by (a) ritual act
• karmaṇā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa voice) addressing a Pāṇḍava interlocutor (likely Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrim emerging from river bath, wet hair tied, wearing clean cloth; sits on darbha grass with controlled posture; prepares śrāddha implements (piṇḍa, til, water pot) under guidance of a priest.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Pāṇḍava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity, self-restraint, and scripturally guided ancestral duty are presented as essential pillars of dharma at a sacred place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha associated with the Revā/Narmadā sacred geography within the Āvantya-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

After tīrtha-bathing, one should perform pitṛ-kārya (ancestral rites) strictly according to vidhi (injunction).