Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

सर्वत्रैव पितः प्रोक्तं पिता तर्पणकर्मणि । पित्र्ये संकल्पकाले च पितुरक्षय्यदापने

Transliteration

sarvatraiva pitaḥ proktaṃ pitā tarpaṇakarmaṇi | pitrye saṃkalpakāle ca piturakṣayyadāpane

Translation

ہر جگہ ‘پِتَہ’ کی صورت بیان کی گئی ہے؛ مگر ترپن کے عمل میں ‘پِتا’ کی صورت اختیار کی جائے۔ اسی طرح پِترِی سنکلپ کے وقت اور اَکشَیّ دان کی نذر میں درست صورت ‘پِتُہ’ ہے۔

Word by Word

• sarvatra: everywhere
• sarvatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb of place)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• pitaḥ: of the father
• pitaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• proktam: is stated
• proktam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√vac (धातु) (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: क्तान्त-भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘said/declared’

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tarpaṇa: libation/satiation offering
• tarpaṇa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• karmaṇi: in the rite
• karmaṇi: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• pitrye: in ancestral (context)
• pitrye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (pertaining to ancestors)

• saṃkalpa: intention/resolve
• saṃkalpa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• pituḥ: of the father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• akṣayya: imperishable
• akṣayya: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + kṣayya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वकः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रातिपदिकम् (समासाङ्ग)

• dāpane: in the giving of imperishable (gift)
• dāpane: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāpana (प्रातिपदिक; √dā caus. ‘to cause to give’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अक्षय्यस्य दापनम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest guiding a yajamāna, pointing to a palm-leaf/ritual manual while the yajamāna pours water for tarpaṇa; highlighted words ‘pitā’ and ‘pituḥ’ appear as calligraphic cues, indicating different contexts (tarpaṇa vs saṅkalpa/dāna).

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛ (father/ancestors)
• tarpaṇa
• saṅkalpa
• akṣayya-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Precision in sacred speech (mantra and grammatical form) is part of dharma and safeguards the efficacy of pitṛ-offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a ritual-language guideline within the māhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use the appropriate grammatical forms of ‘father’ depending on context: tarpaṇa, pitṛ-saṅkalpa, and akṣayya-dāna.