Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

श्राद्धकृद्गोष्पदे यस्तु पितॄणामनृणो हि सः । पदमध्ये विशेषेण कुलानां शतमुद्धरेत्

Transliteration

śrāddhakṛdgoṣpade yastu pitṝṇāmanṛṇo hi saḥ | padamadhye viśeṣeṇa kulānāṃ śatamuddharet

Translation

من أقام شرادها (śrāddha) في غوشبادا صار حقًّا بريئًا من الدَّين تجاه الأسلاف (pitṛ). ولا سيّما إذا أُقيمت في وسط ذلك الـ«پادا» المقدّس، فإنه يرفع مئة سلالة.

Word by Word

• श्राद्ध-कृत्: one who performs śrāddha
• श्राद्ध-कृत्: Karta (Subject/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध + कृत् (कृ धातु + कृत्; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘श्राद्धं करोति’ इति कर्तृवाचक

• गोष्पदे: at Goṣpada
• गोष्पदे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + पद (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक अव्यय

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अनृणः: free from debt/obligation
• अनृणः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनृण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (not indebted)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (indeed/for)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पद-मध्ये: in the middle of (that) place/footprint
• पद-मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘पदस्य मध्ये’

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (especially)

• कुलानाम्: of families/lineages
• कुलानाम्: Karma (Object domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• उद्धरेत्: should uplift/deliver
• उद्धरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Goṣpada

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/pilgrimage-inquirers (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Goṣpada, a śrāddha performer offers piṇḍas; behind him, a hundred ancestral lines are symbolized as branching lamps or a genealogical tree being lifted upward by light from the ‘pada-madhya’.

Characters & Entities

• Goṣpada (tīrtha)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Fulfilling one’s duty to the ancestors at the right sacred place removes ancestral obligation and radiates benefit to many generations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Goṣpada-tīrtha, particularly its central sacred area (pada-madhya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha performed at Goṣpada—especially at the central spot—said to yield exceptional upliftment.