Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

भगवन्न प्रयच्छंति नित्यं नो वंशसंभवाः । श्राद्धानि दौःस्थ्यमापन्नास्तेन सीदामहे विभो

Transliteration

bhagavanna prayacchaṃti nityaṃ no vaṃśasaṃbhavāḥ | śrāddhāni dauḥsthyamāpannāstena sīdāmahe vibho

Translation

يا ربّ! إنّ المولودين في سلالتنا لا يؤدّون لنا شعائر الشرادها (Śrāddha) على الدوام. وبسبب ذلك وقعنا في العُسر والضيق ونذبل، يا ذا القدرة العظيمة.

Word by Word

• भगवन्: O Lord
• भगवन्: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• प्रयच्छन्ति: they give/bestow
• प्रयच्छन्ति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial accusative: always)

• नः: our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) बहुवचन; ‘our’

• वंशसम्भवाः: descendants
• वंशसम्भवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समास: वंशस्य सम्भवाः (descendants of the lineage)

• श्राद्धानि: śrāddha rites/offerings
• श्राद्धानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• दौःस्थ्यम्: poverty/distress
• दौःस्थ्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौःस्थ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/condition)

• आपन्नाः: having fallen into/afflicted by
• आपन्नाः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-√पद् (धातु) → आपन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकालिक-कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ‘vaṃśasambhavāḥ’)

• तेन: therefore/by that
• तेन: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; कारणे (therefore/by that)

• सीदामहे: we languish/suffer
• सीदामहे: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• विभो: O mighty one
• विभो: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (collectively), speaking to Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā (addressed as Bhagavan, Vibho)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pitṛs address Brahmā directly: ‘Our descendants do not give our śrāddhas; we suffer hardship and languish.’ The scene is an emotional celestial petition with folded hands and earnest faces.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Descendants have an ongoing duty to sustain the ancestral line through śrāddha; neglect harms the Pitṛs and reflects dharmic decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is not site-specific; it is a doctrinal statement within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular performance of śrāddha by descendants (vaṃśaja) is explicitly demanded as necessary support for Pitṛs.