Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 127

Devanagari script

पुन्नाम्नो नरकाद्यस्मात्पितरं त्रायते सुतः । तेन पुत्र इति प्रोक्तः स्वयमेव स्वयम्भुवा

Transliteration

punnāmno narakādyasmātpitaraṃ trāyate sutaḥ | tena putra iti proktaḥ svayameva svayambhuvā

Translation

เพราะบุตรย่อมช่วยบิดาให้พ้นจากนรกชื่อ ‘ปุนนามะ’ ฉะนั้นจึงเรียกว่า ‘บุตร’—ดังที่สวายัมภู (พรหมา) ทรงประกาศด้วยพระองค์เอง

Word by Word

• पुन्नाम्नः: from (the hell called) Punnāma
• पुन्नाम्नः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुन्नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; Ablative singular

• नरकात्: from hell
• नरकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; Ablative singular

• यस्मात्: because/from which
• यस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; Ablative singular (relative pronoun)

• पितरम्: father
• पितरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Masculine accusative singular

• त्रायते: saves, delivers
• त्रायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; Present 3rd sg (Ātmanepada)

• सुतः: a son
• सुतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Masculine nominative singular

• तेन: therefore, by that
• तेन: Hetu (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; Instrumental singular (used adverbially: ‘therefore’)

• पुत्रः: son (putra)
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Masculine nominative singular

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative particle), अव्यय

• प्रोक्तः: is said/called
• प्रोक्तः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) used as finite passive sense; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Masculine nominative singular

• स्वयम्: by himself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), अवधारण (emphasis)

• स्वयम्भुवा: by Svayambhū (Brahmā)
• स्वयम्भुवा: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वयम्भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; Instrumental singular

Speaker

Narrator quoting Svayambhū (Brahmā) as authority (exact frame-speaker not specified in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a son offering water (tarpaṇa) and piṇḍa to ancestors; behind, a symbolic vision of a dark hell being dispelled by ritual light; Brahmā as authority in the background or as a narrated presence.

Characters & Entities

• Svayambhū (Brahmā)
• Punnāma-naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches the dharmic role of progeny in supporting ancestral welfare, linking family duty with posthumous well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular site is named; the verse is doctrinal, occurring within the Revā-khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated, though the theme aligns with śrāddha/ancestral rites and the son’s dharmic responsibilities.