Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

श्रीभगवानुवाच । स्नात्वा तु सलिले पुण्ये पितृणां चैव तर्पणम् । ये करिष्यंति मनुजाः पितृभक्तिपरायणाः

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca | snātvā tu salile puṇye pitṛṇāṃ caiva tarpaṇam | ye kariṣyaṃti manujāḥ pitṛbhaktiparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

พระผู้เป็นเจ้าตรัสว่า: มนุษย์ผู้ตั้งมั่นในภักติแด่บรรพชน เมื่ออาบน้ำในสายน้ำอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์นี้แล้วกระทำตัรปณะ (tarpaṇa) แด่ปิตฤ (Pitṛ) —

Word by Word

• śrī-bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• śrī-bhagavān: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (श्री, प्रातिपदिक) + bhagavat (भगवत्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (श्रीमान् भगवान्)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); ‘having bathed’

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक-अव्यय

• salile: in water
• salile: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: salila (सलिल, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• puṇye: holy
• puṇye: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (पुण्य, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘salile’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• pitṛṇām: of the ancestors / for the ancestors
• pitṛṇām: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (पितृ, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय

• tarpaṇam: offering of satisfaction (tarpaṇa)
• tarpaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tarpaṇa (तर्पण, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kariṣyanti: will do
• kariṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• manujāḥ: people, men
• manujāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuja (मनुज, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• pitṛ-bhakti-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to ancestral devotion
• pitṛ-bhakti-parāyaṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitṛ (पितृ) + bhakti (भक्ति) + parāyaṇa (परायण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (पितृषु भक्तिः यस्य/येषां ते; भक्ति-परायण)

Speaker

Śrī Bhagavān (contextually Īśvara/Śiva within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (sacred salila of Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The addressed interlocutors in the Prabhāsa narrative (contextually the installers/seekers around the tīrtha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Prabhāsa’s sacred water performs snāna and then offers tarpaṇa—cupped hands pouring water with sesame—invoking the Pitṛs; the shoreline/ghāṭa and distant Śiva shrine frame the rite.

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Bhagavān
• Pitṛs
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral devotion expressed through tīrtha bathing and tarpaṇa is praised as a direct dharmic duty with transformative merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred water-source within Prabhāsa-kṣetra (the Prabhāsa tīrtha context of Adhyāya 221).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in sacred water followed by pitṛ-tarpaṇa.