Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 124

Devanagari script

लिंगाच्च पूर्वतः कूपेस्नात्वा यस्तर्पयेत्पितॄन् । सर्वतीर्थफलावाप्तिः पितॄणां चाक्षया गतिः

Transliteration

liṃgācca pūrvataḥ kūpesnātvā yastarpayetpitṝn | sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ pitṝṇāṃ cākṣayā gatiḥ

Translation

లింగానికి తూర్పు దిశలోని బావిలో స్నానం చేసి ఎవడు పితృదేవతలకు తర్పణం చేస్తాడో, అతడు సమస్త తీర్థఫలాన్ని పొందుతాడు; పితృులకు అక్షయ గతి కలుగుతుంది.

Word by Word

• liṃgāt: from the liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṃgāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• pūrvataḥ: to the east; in front
• pūrvataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: दिक्/देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb): ‘to the east/in front’

• kūpe: in the well
• kūpe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having bathed’

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; relative

• tarpayet: should offer libations; should satisfy
• tarpayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṛp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative sense in usage: ‘should satisfy/offer libations’

• pitṝn: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ: attainment of the fruits of all tīrthas
• sarvatīrthaphalāvāptiḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + āvāpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative chain), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘all-pilgrimage-fruit-attainment’

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• akṣayā: imperishable
• akṣayā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘imperishable’ (qualifying gatiḥ)

• gatiḥ: state; course; destination
• gatiḥ: Karta (Predicate-noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pūrvato-liṅga-kūpa (the well east of the liṅga)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn near a stone-lined well east of a liṅga shrine, a devotee emerges from snāna and offers tarpaṇa with cupped hands; subtle presence of pitṛs receiving the libations; the shrine’s liṅga visible behind.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Liṅga
• Pitṛs
• Kūpa (sacred well)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-kṣetras sanctify both the living and the departed: devotion joined with Pitṛ rites yields comprehensive merit and lasting good for ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred well (kūpa) situated east of the Liṅga at the described shrine is glorified as tīrtha-equivalent.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe in the eastern well and perform pitṛ-tarpaṇa to gain sarva-tīrtha fruit and akṣaya gati for the ancestors.