Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पैतृकात्तु ऋणान्मुक्ता भवंतु गतकल्मषाः । व्यन्तरत्वं सुरश्रेष्ठ येषां वै पितरो गताः

Transliteration

paitṛkāttu ṛṇānmuktā bhavaṃtu gatakalmaṣāḥ | vyantaratvaṃ suraśreṣṭha yeṣāṃ vai pitaro gatāḥ

Translation

«ليتحرّروا من ديون الأسلاف، وليصيروا مطهَّرين من كل دنس. يا خيرَ الآلهة، وحتى الذين سقط آباؤهم الأقدمون إلى حالِ الـvyantara، كائناتٍ وسيطةٍ قلقةٍ هائمة، فليُرفَعوا هنا.»

Word by Word

• पैतृकात्: from ancestral (paternal)
• पैतृकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पैतृक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; 'from paternal/ancestral (debt)'

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वयबोधक (particle)

• ऋणात्: from debt
• ऋणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

• मुक्ताः: freed
• मुक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुच् (धातु) → मुक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: 'freed'

• भवन्तु: let them be
• भवन्तु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• गतकल्मषाः: free from sin; with sins gone
• गतकल्मषाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: गतं कल्मषं येषाम्/ये = 'whose sin has gone'

• व्यन्तरत्वम्: the state of being a Vyantara (a class of beings)
• व्यन्तरत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यन्तरत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• सुरश्रेष्ठ: O best of gods
• सुरश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सुराणां श्रेष्ठः

• येषाम्: of whom
• येषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक (emphatic particle)

• पितरः: the fathers
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• गताः: have gone; have attained
• गताः: Kriya-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: 'gone/attained'

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual prayer within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unspecified within the excerpt

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa, a devotee offers water-libations; subtle forms of ancestors rise from shadowy vyantara-like unrest into calm luminous ascent, as the deity’s grace purifies them.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Suraśreṣṭha
• Vyantara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual remembrance and offerings to the Pitṛs at a powerful tīrtha can purify lineage burdens and aid even troubled ancestral states.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsa tīrtha region) as praised in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies pitṛ-oriented rites leading to release from pitṛ-ṛṇa; the detailed prescriptions (snāna/tarpaṇa/śrāddha) appear in the surrounding verses.