Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

महालयं न कुर्याद्वै योऽष्टम्यां मूढचेतनः । संसारसागरे घोरे सदा मज्जति दुःखितः

Transliteration

mahālayaṃ na kuryādvai yo'ṣṭamyāṃ mūḍhacetanaḥ | saṃsārasāgare ghore sadā majjati duḥkhitaḥ

Translation

Wer, von verblendetem Sinn, am Aṣṭamī-Tag das Mahālaya-Ritual nicht vollzieht, versinkt immerdar—voll Kummer—im schrecklichen Ozean des Saṃsāra.

Word by Word

• mahālayam: Mahālaya rite/observance
• mahālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular (object)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय; negation particle

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; should do

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphasis/indeed

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; relative pronoun ‘who’

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth lunar day
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; locative singular

• mūḍhacetanaḥ: deluded-minded
• mūḍhacetanaḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक) + cetana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective qualifying yaḥ; ‘one whose mind is deluded’

• saṃsārasāgare: in the ocean of worldly existence
• saṃsārasāgare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; locative singular

• ghore: terrible
• ghore: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective to saṃsārasāgare

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय; adverb of time

• majjati: sinks/drowns
• majjati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: majj (मज्ज् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; sinks

• duḥkhitaḥ: afflicted/sorrowful
• duḥkhitaḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkhita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; predicate adjective to yaḥ

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka group in purāṇic setting)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a sea-shore tīrtha hesitates to perform Mahālaya rites; behind him looms a dark, wave-filled ocean symbolizing saṃsāra, while unseen pitṛs wait in expectation.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disregard for prescribed ancestral duties perpetuates bondage and sorrow in worldly existence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu-kṣetra’s ritual landscape, where Mahālaya śrāddha is urged as a key dharmic act.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not omit Mahālaya on aṣṭamī; it is presented as a crucial tithi for śrāddha.