Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

यथा पूर्वं तथा देव तदुपायं प्रचिन्तय । कंचिद्येन दरिद्रा वै प्रीणयंति च ते पितॄन्

Transliteration

yathā pūrvaṃ tathā deva tadupāyaṃ pracintaya | kaṃcidyena daridrā vai prīṇayaṃti ca te pitṝn

Translation

Darum, o Gott, ersinne ein Mittel, damit es wieder sei wie zuvor: eine Weise, durch die selbst die Armen ihre Pitṛs (Ahnen) erfreuen und zufriedenstellen können.

Word by Word

• यथा: as
• यथा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकार/उपमा (as/just as)

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial: formerly/before)

• तथा: so/likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तदनुरूप (so/in that way)

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘upāyam’)

• उपायम्: means/remedy
• उपायम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• प्रचिन्तय: consider/think out
• प्रचिन्तय: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√चिन्त् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कञ्चित्: some (one/means)
• कञ्चित्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रत्यय ‘चित्’ (some/any)

• येन: by which
• येन: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया, एकवचन; साधन/उपायार्थे (by which)

• दरिद्राः: the poor
• दरिद्राः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निश्चय/खलु-अर्थे (indeed)

• प्रीणयन्ति: they satisfy/please
• प्रीणयन्ति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √प्री (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; causative sense possible in usage ‘to satisfy’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय

• ते: your
• ते: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘your’

• पितॄन्: ancestors/fathers
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (collectively), speaking to Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king) and the audience within the kathā-frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant voice (or a group) appeals to a deity/elder authority: ‘Devise a method so that even the poor can satisfy their Pitṛs.’ The scene is intimate, ethical, and reform-minded—foregrounding compassion and social inclusion in ritual life.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Daridra (the poor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma must be practicable for all; even those with little wealth should have a legitimate way to honor and satisfy the Pitṛs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets up a remedy-teaching within the tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A request for an upāya (practical method) enabling daridras to perform effective pitṛ-prīṇana (ancestral satisfaction), implying simplified śrāddha options.