Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

चान्द्रायणेन नश्यन्ति शुक्लतीर्थे न संशयः । शुक्लतीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः

Transliteration

cāndrāyaṇena naśyanti śuklatīrthe na saṃśayaḥ | śuklatīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ

Translation

چاندْرایَن ورت کے ذریعے وہ (گناہ) شُکل تیرتھ میں مٹ جاتے ہیں—اس میں کوئی شک نہیں۔ اور جو کوئی شُکل تیرتھ میں اشنان کر کے پِتروں اور دیوتاؤں کو ترپن (آبِ نذر) پیش کرے—

Word by Word

• चान्द्रायणेन: by the Cāndrāyaṇa (penance)
• चान्द्रायणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चान्द्रायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• नश्यन्ति: perish; are destroyed
• नश्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• शुक्लतीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th case/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• शुक्लतीर्थे: at Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय/कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy (offer libations to)
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु) (causative: तर्पय-)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• पितृदेवताः: the ancestral deities
• पितृदेवताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine; देवता-शब्द), द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clear ritual sequence: dawn at the ghat; the pilgrim bathes, then stands facing south for pitṛ-tarpaṇa with water and sesame; then turns for deva-tarpaṇa; the riverbank is bright (‘śukla’).

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity (vrata) becomes especially potent when performed in a sanctified landscape; place and practice together intensify purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, praised as a locus where expiation and ancestral rites yield strong results.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāndrāyaṇa vrata, bathing (snāna) at Śuklatīrtha, and tarpaṇa to Pitṛs and devas.