Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

इक्ष्वाकुसंभवो राजा चाणक्यो नाम धार्मिकः । द्वादशाहे मृतस्यास्य तर्पितावशनादिना

Transliteration

ikṣvākusaṃbhavo rājā cāṇakyo nāma dhārmikaḥ | dvādaśāhe mṛtasyāsya tarpitāvaśanādinā

Translation

ایک نیک بادشاہ، چانکیہ نامی، جو اِکشواکو کے خاندان سے ہے—اس کے مُردے کے بارہ دن کے کرم میں اُس نے ہمیں کھانے اور دیگر نذرانوں سے سیر کیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• इक्ष्वाकु-सम्भवः: descended from Ikṣvāku
• इक्ष्वाकु-सम्भवः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इक्ष्वाकु (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (इक्ष्वाकॊः सम्भवः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘born in the Ikṣvāku line’

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• चाणक्यः: Cāṇakya
• चाणक्यः: Karta (Subject/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाणक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (व्यक्तिनाम)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, संज्ञासूचक-निपात (quotative: ‘by name’)

• धार्मिकः: righteous
• धार्मिकः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धार्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘righteous’

• द्वादशाहे: on the twelfth day
• द्वादशाहे: Adhikarana (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादशाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (द्वादश + अह), पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; ‘on the twelfth-day rite’

• मृतस्य: of the deceased
• मृतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; मृ + क्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of the deceased’

• अस्य: of him/this one
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन; ‘of this (person)’

• तर्पितौ: were satisfied
• तर्पितौ: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘satiated/propitiated’ (two beings)

• अशन-आदिना: with food and the like
• अशन-आदिना: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशन (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (अशनम् आदि यस्य/अशनादि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘by food etc.’

Speaker

Rājā (the king) / formula to be reported

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha-context (Revākhaṇḍa)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dharmic Ikṣvāku-line king performs dvādaśāha rites; offerings of food reach crows as ritual recipients, implying pitṛs’ satisfaction.

Characters & Entities

• Ikṣvāku
• Cāṇakya (king)
• Dvādāśāha
• Tarpana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and post-death rites, performed with dharma, tangibly “satisfy” recipients and generate merit that reaches subtle realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

While not naming a terrestrial site in this verse, the Revā Khaṇḍa setting frames these rites within the larger tīrtha-mahātmyam tradition of the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The dvādāśāha (twelve-day observance after death) with tarpana/feeding—“food and the like” (aśanādi).