Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

अपि शौचपरित्यक्तं हीनांगाधिकमेव वा । दौहित्रं योजयेच्छ्राद्धे पितॄणां परितुष्टये

Transliteration

api śaucaparityaktaṃ hīnāṃgādhikameva vā | dauhitraṃ yojayecchrāddhe pitṝṇāṃ parituṣṭaye

Translation

Selbst wenn ein dauhitra an ritueller Reinheit mangelt oder an Gliedern zu wenig oder zu viel hat, soll man den Tochtersohn dennoch beim śrāddha einsetzen — zur völligen Zufriedenheit der Pitṛs.

Word by Word

• api: even if
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (particle: even/also)

• śaucaparityaktam: one who has abandoned purity/cleanliness
• śaucaparityaktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śauca (प्रातिपदिक) + parityakta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neut. Acc. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śaucasya parityaktam)

• hīnāṅgādhikam: having deficient or extra limbs
• hīnāṅgādhikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hīna (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neut. Acc. sg.); द्वन्द्व (hīnāṅga + adhikāṅga: deficient-limbed or extra-limbed)

• eva: indeed, even
• eva: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle: only/indeed)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प (disjunctive particle: or)

• dauhitrām: a daughter’s son (grandson)
• dauhitrām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dauhitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Acc. sg.)

• yojayet: should appoint/include
• yojayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yuj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Optative, 3rd sg.)

• śrāddhe: in the Śrāddha rite
• śrāddhe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neut., Loc. sg.)

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masc., Gen. pl.)

• parituṣṭaye: for (their) complete satisfaction
• parituṣṭaye: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari + tuṣ (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-अन्त (infinitive), चतुर्थी-एकवचनवत् प्रयोग (dative-purpose sense: ‘for pleasing’); अव्ययभाव (Infinitive of purpose)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate śrāddha moment: elders and priest gently guide a dauhitra with visible disability or signs of hardship to a seat, ensuring he is included; offerings proceed with solemn care, Pitṛs envisioned as pleased.

Characters & Entities

• Dauhitra
• Śrāddha
• Pitṛs
• Śauca (ritual purity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain dharmic relationships are treated as uniquely potent in ancestral rites, sometimes outweighing ordinary considerations of eligibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it is a prescriptive śrāddha teaching within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Include the dauhitra in śrāddha for pitṛ satisfaction, even if he has issues of śauca or physical irregularities.