Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 111

Devanagari script

श्राद्धकाले च विप्राणां भुञ्जतां पुरतः स्थितः । पठंस्तीर्थावलिं पुण्यां गयाश्राद्धप्रदो भवेत्

Transliteration

śrāddhakāle ca viprāṇāṃ bhuñjatāṃ purataḥ sthitaḥ | paṭhaṃstīrthāvaliṃ puṇyāṃ gayāśrāddhaprado bhavet

Translation

ในกาลแห่งศราทธะ เมื่อพราหมณ์กำลังฉันภัตตาหาร ผู้ใดยืนอยู่เบื้องหน้าแล้วสาธยาย “บัญชีแห่งตีรถะ” อันศักดิ์สิทธิ์นี้ ผู้นั้นย่อมเป็นผู้ประทานผลแห่งคยา-ศราทธะ

Word by Word

• श्राद्ध-काले: at the time of śrāddha
• श्राद्ध-काले: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—श्राद्धस्य काले (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• विप्राणाम्: of the brāhmaṇas
• विप्राणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• भुञ्जताम्: of those who are eating
• भुञ्जताम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive dependent)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भुज् (धातु) → भुञ्जत् (शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘भुञ्जताम्’ = of those who are eating

• पुरतः: in front
• पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (in front)

• स्थितः: standing
• स्थितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• पठन्: reciting
• पठन्: Karta (Agent, concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पठ् (धातु) → पठत् (शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘पठन्’ = while reciting

• तीर्थ-आवलिम्: a row/list of tīrthas
• तीर्थ-आवलिम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + आवलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तीर्थाणाम् आवलिः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• पुण्याम्: holy/meritorious
• पुण्याम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘तीर्थावलिम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• गया-श्राद्ध-प्रदः: a giver of the (merit of) Gayā-śrāddha
• गया-श्राद्ध-प्रदः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक) + श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—गयायां श्राद्धम् (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष) + तस्य प्रदः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from immediate narrative context of Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā (as merit benchmark) / Tīrthāvalī-paṭhana

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha meal: brāhmaṇas seated in a row eating; the performer stands before them reciting from a manuscript titled ‘tīrthāvalī’; subtle presence of pitṛs receiving offerings in the unseen realm.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Vipra (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Scriptural remembrance of sacred geography, when integrated into śrāddha, elevates ancestral offerings to renowned pilgrimage-level merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is explicitly referenced as the benchmark for śrāddha fruit; the Revā tīrthas are praised as conferring comparable merit through recitation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During śrāddha, stand before the dining brāhmaṇas and recite the meritorious tīrthāvali.