Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

पितर ऊचुः । पितृतर्पणजा गर्ता त्वया येयं विनिर्मिता । रामह्रद इति ख्यातिं प्रयास्यति जगत्त्रये

Transliteration

pitara ūcuḥ | pitṛtarpaṇajā gartā tvayā yeyaṃ vinirmitā | rāmahrada iti khyātiṃ prayāsyati jagattraye

Translation

پِتروں نے کہا: “پِتر-ترپن سے پیدا ہونے والا یہ گڑھا جو تم نے بنایا ہے، تینوں جہانوں میں ‘رامہرد’ کے نام سے شہرت پائے گا۔”

Word by Word

• pitaraḥ: the ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• pitṛ-tarpaṇa-jā: born from (made by) ancestral oblation (tarpaṇa)
• pitṛ-tarpaṇa-jā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष समास (पितॄणां तर्पणात् जाता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying gartā)

• gartā: a pit/cavity
• gartā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gartā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• yā: which
• yā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• iyam: this
• iyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण/निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• vinirmitā: constructed
• vinirmitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vinirmita (कृदन्त; √mā/√māna?; here √mā 'to measure/make' via nirmā)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying gartā)

• rāma-hradaḥ: Rama-pond (Rāmahrada)
• rāma-hradaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + hrada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास (रामस्य ह्रदः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus / as
• iti: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशार्थक अव्यय (quotative)

• khyātim: fame/name
• khyātim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• prayāsyati: will attain/come to
• prayāsyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• jagat-traye: in the three worlds
• jagat-traye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/द्विगु-भाव (त्रिषु जगत्सु) समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmahrada

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rāma

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The pitṛs speak from an unseen/ethereal realm, blessing the hollow created by tarpaṇa and declaring its name ‘Rāmahrada’ renowned in the three worlds.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Rāma
• Rāmahrada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual performed with devotion can transform a physical spot into a universally revered tīrtha, carrying merit across generations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmahrada—‘the lake of Rāma’—a tīrtha arising from Pitṛ-tarpaṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa is explicitly identified as the sanctifying act from which the tīrtha originates.