Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

जनकं स्वं परित्यज्य कथंचिन्नास्य दीयते । तस्याकृतेन श्राद्धेन न स्वल्पं पितृतो भयम्

Transliteration

janakaṃ svaṃ parityajya kathaṃcinnāsya dīyate | tasyākṛtena śrāddhena na svalpaṃ pitṛto bhayam

Translation

Wenn man den eigenen Vater vernachlässigt und ihm irgendwie nichts darbringt, dann ist aufgrund dieses unterlassenen śrāddha die Furcht (vor Tadel und Folge) seitens der Pitṛs, der Ahnenväter, keineswegs gering.

Word by Word

• जनकम्: father
• जनकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• स्वम्: one’s own
• स्वम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (own)

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परित्यज्य (कृदन्त; √त्यज् (धातु) + परि; ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• कथंचित्: somehow/at all
• कथंचित्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘somehow/at all’)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध/negation particle

• अस्य: of him/of this (person)
• अस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि (passive)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अकृतेन: by (it) not being done
• अकृतेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकृत (कृदन्त; √कृ (धातु) ; क्त; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषण (not performed)

• श्राद्धेन: by the śrāddha
• श्राद्धेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध/negation particle

• स्वल्पम्: small
• स्वल्पम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भयम् इति विशेषण

• पितृतः: from the father/ancestors
• पितृतः: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; ‘from the father/ancestral side’

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder at a tīrtha-bank stands with lowered head, empty-handed, while shadowy ancestral figures (pitaraḥ) appear behind, conveying the weight of neglected śrāddha; a priest points to ritual vessels (kuśa, piṇḍa, tila, water).

Characters & Entities

• janaka
• pitṛ
• śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honoring one’s father through śrāddha is a serious dharmic obligation; neglect fractures ancestral harmony.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; the teaching belongs to the broader tīrtha-oriented śrāddha instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not omit śrāddha and offerings for one’s father; omission is warned to bring significant ancestral displeasure/consequence.