Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

नरकादुद्धरत्याशु पुरुषानेकविंशतिम् । तिलोदकप्रदानेन किमुत श्राद्धदो नरः

Transliteration

narakāduddharatyāśu puruṣānekaviṃśatim | tilodakapradānena kimuta śrāddhado naraḥ

Translation

تلودک (تل اور پانی) کا دان کرنے سے آدمی فوراً اکیس اشخاص کو نرک سے اُبار لیتا ہے؛ پھر جو شخص شرادھ کرتا ہے وہ کتنی بڑھ کر نجات بخشتا ہوگا!

Word by Word

• नरकात्: from hell
• नरकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• उद्धरति: rescues; lifts out
• उद्धरति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: quickly)

• पुरुषान्: men; persons
• पुरुषान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• एकविंशतिम्: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (qualifying पुरुषान्)

• तिलोदकप्रदानेन: by the offering of sesame-water
• तिलोदकप्रदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तिलोदकस्य प्रदानम्)

• किम्: what (need to say)
• किम्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रश्नार्थक-निपात (interrogative particle), ‘what then?’ (किमुत इत्यत्र)

• उत: then; indeed
• उत: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प/उत्कर्षार्थक-निपात; ‘then/indeed’ (किमुत = ‘how much more’)

• श्राद्धदः: one who gives śrāddha (funeral offering)
• श्राद्धदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धं ददाति इति)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); श्राद्धदः इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the riverbank, a devotee offers tilodaka with cupped hands; nearby, a śrāddha setting with darbha, piṇḍas, and brāhmaṇas seated for bhojana; subtle imagery of souls being lifted from darkness toward light.

Characters & Entities

• tilodaka
• śrāddha
• naraka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-dharma is powerful: even a simple offering like tilodaka has salvific merit, and śrāddha is praised as even more efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions within a tīrtha-māhātmya context of Revā-khaṇḍa, implying these offerings are especially fruitful when done at the praised sacred ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tilodaka-pradāna (offering sesame-water) and the performance of śrāddha for ancestors.