Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

यथा पुच्छाभिघातेन स्कन्धं गच्छन्ति बिन्दवः । नरकादुद्धरन्त्याशु पतितान् गोत्रिणस्तथा

Transliteration

yathā pucchābhighātena skandhaṃ gacchanti bindavaḥ | narakāduddharantyāśu patitān gotriṇastathā

Translation

جس طرح دُم کے جھٹکے سے قطرے کندھے تک جا پہنچتے ہیں، اسی طرح وہ اپنے ہی گوتر کے گرے ہوئے رشتہ داروں کو دوزخ سے جلد اُبار لیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as)

• पुच्छाभिघातेन: by the blow of (its) tail
• पुच्छाभिघातेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुच्छ + अभिघात (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (पुच्छस्य अभिघातः = blow of the tail)

• स्कन्धम्: to the shoulder/withers
• स्कन्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• गच्छन्ति: go/move
• गच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, प्रथम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• बिन्दवः: drops
• बिन्दवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• नरकात्: from hell
• नरकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• उद्धरन्ति: they rescue/lift out
• उद्धरन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, प्रथम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/शीघ्रवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: quickly)

• पतितान्: the fallen (ones)
• पतितान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (past participle ‘fallen’), पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• गोत्रिणः: kinsmen of the same lineage
• गोत्रिणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (so/likewise)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (Revākhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) dharma-field (general)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cow swishes its tail; droplets arc onto a person’s shoulder; simultaneously, a shadowy group of ‘fallen’ gotriṇas are shown being lifted upward by a stream of light/droplets, illustrating rapid rescue.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka
• Gotra/lineage

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is portrayed as transferable within lineage; righteous or auspicious causes can uplift even ‘fallen’ relatives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-kṣetra setting frames the teaching, but this verse itself is a general statement on lineage upliftment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse uses a simile to describe swift ancestral/lineage deliverance.