Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां स्नात्वा यस्तर्पयेत्पितॄन् । तर्पिताः पितरस्तेन यावच्चन्द्रार्कतारकम्

Transliteration

kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ snātvā yastarpayetpitṝn | tarpitāḥ pitarastena yāvaccandrārkatārakam

Translation

Wer am vierzehnten Tag der dunklen Monatshälfte (kṛṣṇa‑pakṣa) badet und den Ahnen Tarpaṇa darbringt—durch ihn sind die Pitṛs zufrieden, solange Mond, Sonne und Sterne währen.

Word by Word

• कृष्णपक्षे: in the dark fortnight
• कृष्णपक्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णपक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (कृष्णः पक्षः)

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वक्रिया (having bathed)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• तर्पयेत्: should satisfy / offer libations to
• तर्पयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; causative sense ‘to satisfy/offer libation’

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• तर्पिताः: satisfied
• तर्पिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: कृत्प्रत्यय—क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तेन: by him / through that (act)
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• यावत्: as long as / until
• यावत्: Avyaya (Modifier/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-सूचक (until/as long as)

• चन्द्रार्कतारकम्: (till) the moon, sun, and stars (endure)
• चन्द्रार्कतारकम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र + अर्क + तारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (चन्द्रश्च अर्कश्च तारकं च)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha (contextually Trisaṅgama vicinity)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on the dark fortnight’s fourteenth, a pilgrim stands waist-deep in sacred water, offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands; subtle ancestral silhouettes receive the offering, while the sky shows moon and stars as symbols of duration.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Caturdaśī
• Candra
• Arka (Sūrya)
• Tārā (stars)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes care for lineage: tīrtha-bathing joined with pitṛ-offerings yields enduring ancestral satisfaction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa-kṣetra tīrtha context of this chapter, where such snāna and tarpaṇa are especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

On Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa Caturdaśī, bathe and perform pitṛ-tarpaṇa; the Pitṛs are satisfied for an extremely long duration.