Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

सपिण्डीकरणादूर्ध्वमेकोद्दिष्टं न कारयेत् । क्षयाहं च परित्यज्य शस्त्राहत चतुर्दशीम्

Transliteration

sapiṇḍīkaraṇādūrdhvamekoddiṣṭaṃ na kārayet | kṣayāhaṃ ca parityajya śastrāhata caturdaśīm

Translation

Nach dem Ritus der sapiṇḍīkaraṇa soll kein ekoddiṣṭa mehr veranlasst werden. Ferner, indem man den kṣayāha (unheilvollen Verlusttag) und den vierzehnten Tag, der mit dem Tod durch Waffen verbunden ist, meidet, wähle man geeignete Zeiten für das Ahnenritual.

Word by Word

• सपिण्डीकरणात्: after the sapiṇḍīkaraṇa (rite)
• सपिण्डीकरणात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa + piṇḍīkaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (सपिण्डीकरण), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ऊर्ध्वम्: above/afterwards
• ऊर्ध्वम्: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (adverbial)

• एकोद्दिष्टम्: the ekoddiṣṭa (single-offering śrāddha)
• एकोद्दिष्टम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka + uddiṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (एकस्य उद्दिष्टम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• कारयेत्: should have performed/should cause to be done
• कारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); णिच् (causative) ‘cause to be done’

• क्षयाहम्: the kṣayāha day (inauspicious day)
• क्षयाहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya + aha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (क्षयस्य अहः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक

• परित्यज्य: having avoided/abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; उपसर्ग: परि

• शस्त्राहत: (day) marked by weapon-strike (inauspicious)
• शस्त्राहत: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śastra + āhata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (शस्त्रेण आहतः/आहता), (here) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular) — qualifying ‘चतुर्दशीम्/दिनम्’ by sense

• चतुर्दशीम्: the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ritual-performing gṛhasthas/pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual calendar (pañcāṅga) beside a śrāddha altar; the priest points to forbidden tithis while indicating the completed sapiṇḍīkaraṇa and the shift away from ekoddiṣṭa.

Characters & Entities

• sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• ekoddiṣṭa
• kṣayāha
• caturdaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rituals must match the spiritual status of the departed and be performed at appropriate times, avoiding inauspicious conditions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is framed within tīrtha-based dharma teaching, but no named site appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not perform ekoddiṣṭa after sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, and avoid performing rites on kṣayāha and on the weapon-death-associated caturdaśī.