Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

मैत्रावरुणतीर्थं च ततः पातकनाशनम् । तत्र पिंडप्रदानेन पितॄणां भवति प्रियः

Transliteration

maitrāvaruṇatīrthaṃ ca tataḥ pātakanāśanam | tatra piṃḍapradānena pitṝṇāṃ bhavati priyaḥ

Translation

پھر میتراورُن تیرتھ ہے جو گناہوں کو مٹا دیتا ہے۔ وہاں پنڈ دان کرنے سے انسان پِتروں (آبائی ارواح) کا محبوب بن جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtham: Maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtha
• maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maitrāvaruṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (मैत्रावरुणं तीर्थम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunctive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): 'and'

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध-क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'then/thereafter'

• pātaka-nāśanam: destroyer of sins
• pātaka-nāśanam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (तीर्थम्); तत्पुरुष-समास (पातकस्य नाशनम्)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (place adverb): 'there'

• piṇḍa-pradānena: by offering piṇḍa (funeral rice-balls)
• piṇḍa-pradānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पिण्डस्य प्रदानम्)

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• bhavati: becomes/is
• bhavati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• priyaḥ: dear/pleasing
• priyaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (कर्ता-सम्बन्ध: 'he becomes dear')

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience/interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet ghāṭa, a pilgrim sits facing the river with darbha grass, sesame, and rice-balls; piṇḍas are offered with water-libations; translucent ancestral figures appear peacefully behind, blessing the offerer.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Piṇḍa-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred travel is tied to dharma: honoring the ancestors through piṇḍa-offerings is praised as a direct act of gratitude and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maitrāvaruṇa-tīrtha in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-pradāna (offering piṇḍas) for the Pitṛs at this tīrtha.