Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 158

Devanagari script

इदं पितृभ्यो देवेभ्यो द्विजेभ्यः पावकाय च । एवं कस्माद्विस्तराः स्युर्मनः कायादिकष्टदाः

Transliteration

idaṃ pitṛbhyo devebhyo dvijebhyaḥ pāvakāya ca | evaṃ kasmādvistarāḥ syurmanaḥ kāyādikaṣṭadāḥ

Translation

„Dies ist für die Pitṛs, dies für die Götter, dies für die Dvijas (die Zweimalgeborenen) und dies für das Feuer“ — wenn man es so sagen kann, warum gibt es dann so ausgedehnte Riten, die Geist und Leib beschweren?

Word by Word

• इदम्: this (offering/act)
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd; Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन

• पितृभ्यः: to the ancestors
• पितृभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन

• देवेभ्यः: to the gods
• देवेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन

• द्विजेभ्यः: to the twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन

• पावकाय: to Agni (Fire)
• पावकाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-viseshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/in this way)

• कस्मात्: from what reason/why
• कस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेतौ (in sense of cause: ‘why/from what reason’)

• विस्तराः: elaborations/details
• विस्तराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• स्युः: would be/should be
• स्युः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• मनः: of the mind
• मनः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• कायादिकष्टदाः: giving trouble to body etc.
• कायादिकष्टदाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काय + आदि + कष्ट + द (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—कायः आदिः (कायादि) तस्मै कष्टं ददाति इति (कायादि-कष्ट-द)

Speaker

Rājā (the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king proposes a minimalist formula for allocating offerings to multiple recipients and questions the need for elaborate, strenuous procedures; ritual paraphernalia and a calm teacherly presence frame the debate.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Devas
• Dvijas
• Pāvaka (Agni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It challenges mere minimalism in ritual, asking why dharma prescribes detailed observances rather than only brief verbal dedication.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is identified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references dedicatory statements to Pitṛs, Devas, Dvijas, and Agni, while questioning the need for extensive ritual detail.