Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सर्प्पे वह्नि विषैर्वा ये नाशं नीताः पितामहाः । अपुत्रा वा सपुत्रा वा सपिण्डीकरणं विना

Transliteration

sarppe vahni viṣairvā ye nāśaṃ nītāḥ pitāmahāḥ | aputrā vā saputrā vā sapiṇḍīkaraṇaṃ vinā

Translation

«سواء أُهلك الأجدادُ بحيّةٍ أو بنارٍ أو بسُمّ؛ وسواء ماتوا بلا ابنٍ أو حتى مع ابنٍ ولكن من غير إقامة طقسِ sapiṇḍīkaraṇa—فليَنَلْهم النفعُ بما يُؤدَّى هنا من شعائر.»

Word by Word

• सर्पे: by/with a snake; in (case of) a snake
• सर्पे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• वह्नि: in fire
• वह्नि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (वह्नौ/वह्नि—वैदिक/काव्यप्रयोग)

• विषैः: by poisons
• विषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• नाशम्: destruction; death
• नाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• नीताः: led to; brought to
• नीताः: Kriya-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नी (धातु) → नीत (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: 'led/brought' (to)

• पितामहाः: grandfathers; ancestors
• पितामहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• अपुत्राः: sonless
• अपुत्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त: 'without sons'

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• सपुत्राः: having sons
• सपुत्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; 'with sons'

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• सपिण्डीकरणम्: the rite of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• सपिण्डीकरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सपिण्डीकरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; श्राद्धकर्मविशेष (technical ritual term)

• विना: without
• विना: Nishedha (Exclusion/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-योगे तृतीया/द्वितीया-सम्बन्धार्थक; 'without'

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: A ritual platform by the waters of Prabhāsa: offerings are made for ancestors who died by snakebite, fire, or poison; symbolic serpent, flame, and poison vessel appear as subdued motifs while ancestors receive piṇḍas and become peaceful.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmahāḥ
• Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• Sarpa
• Vahni
• Viṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-based pitṛ rites can extend grace even to ancestors who suffered untimely or ritually incomplete deaths.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a place where pitṛ-related deficiencies can be remedied.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is referenced as a key ancestral rite; the passage frames Prabhāsa rites as compensating for its absence.