Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 168

Devanagari script

येऽत्र कृष्ण चतुर्द्दश्यामाश्विने मासि शोभने पिंडदानं करिष्यंति स्नानं कृत्वा समाहिताः

Transliteration

ye'tra kṛṣṇa caturddaśyāmāśvine māsi śobhane piṃḍadānaṃ kariṣyaṃti snānaṃ kṛtvā samāhitāḥ

Translation

Diejenigen, die hier—am vierzehnten Tag der dunklen Monatshälfte im glückverheißenden Monat Āśvina—nach dem Bad, mit gesammeltem Geist, das Piṇḍa-Opfer darbringen,

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम्

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• kṛṣṇa: dark (fortnight)
• kṛṣṇa: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषणम्; (अत्र) अमावास्यापक्षे ‘कृष्ण’ इति पक्षविशेषः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः/सम्बोधनसदृशः

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (चतुर्दशी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्

• āśvine: in (the month) Āśvina
• āśvine: Adhikarana (Time-qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āśvina (आश्विन) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषणम्; पुल्लिङ्गम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘मासि’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (मास) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्

• śobhane: auspicious, splendid
• śobhane: Adhikarana (Qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śobhana (शोभन) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषणम्; पुल्लिङ्गम्, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘मासि’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• piṇḍa-dānam: offering of funeral rice-balls
• piṇḍa-dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (पिण्ड) + dāna (दान) (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: पिण्डस्य दानम्; नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• kariṣyanti: will do/perform
• kariṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्

• snānam: bath
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (स्नान) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• kṛtvā: having done (having bathed)
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु) + tvā (त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (absolutive/gerund): ‘having done’

• samāhitāḥ: composed, attentive
• samāhitāḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (समाधा धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: सम्+आ+धा-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं कृदन्तम्; पुल्लिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; कर्तृविशेषणम्

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator; ritual-phala section)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha (Arbuda-khaṇḍa Devi-associated spot)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed in v.169) and the narrative audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at a coastal/riverine tīrtha at dawn in Āśvina: after bathing, they sit on darbha grass facing south, offering piṇḍas with water-libations; a nearby Devi shrine presides over the rite.

Characters & Entities

• Āśvina māsa
• Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī
• Piṇḍadāna
• Snāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right time (tithi) and right place (kṣetra) elevate ancestral rites into powerful acts of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘here’ refers to the sacred āśrama/tīrtha in Arbuda-kṣetra described in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) followed by piṇḍadāna on Āśvina kṛṣṇa caturdaśī, performed with mental focus (samādhāna).