Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अन्यायोपार्जितैर्द्रव्यै र्यच्छ्राद्धं क्रियते नरैः । तृप्यंति तेन चण्डालाः पुष्कसाद्यासु योनिषु

Transliteration

anyāyopārjitairdravyai ryacchrāddhaṃ kriyate naraiḥ | tṛpyaṃti tena caṇḍālāḥ puṣkasādyāsu yoniṣu

Translation

Wenn Menschen das śrāddha mit durch Unrecht erworbenem Besitz vollziehen, dann werden durch diese Gabe die Caṇḍālas zufrieden—jene, die in Puṣkasa- und ähnlichen Geburten hervorgehen—nicht aber die Ahnen, denen man darzubringen meinte.

Word by Word

• अन्यायोपार्जितैः: by unjustly acquired
• अन्यायोपार्जितैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्याय-उपार्जित (प्रातिपदिक; उपार्जित = √अर्ज् (धातु) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (instrumental plural)

• द्रव्यैः: with/through wealth (substances)
• द्रव्यैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकं सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• क्रियते: is performed
• क्रियते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• नरैः: by men
• नरैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/कर्तृ-करण), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्ता-कारकः

• तृप्यन्ति: are satisfied
• तृप्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तदर्थे (thereby)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चण्डालाः: Caṇḍālas
• चण्डालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• पुष्कस-आद्यasu: in (wombs) beginning with Puṣkasa etc.
• पुष्कस-आद्यasu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुष्कस-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन; ‘आदि’समासान्त (etc.) विशेषणम्

• योनिषु: in wombs/births
• योनिषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha scene where offerings made from tainted coins transform into dark vapors drifting away from the ancestral path; shadowy outcaste-figures (symbolic, not caricatured) receive the diverted essence, while the pitṛs remain unsatisfied in the background, hands unfilled—conveying ritual misdirection.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Caṇḍāla
• Puṣkasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Offerings made from injustice miss their intended spiritual recipient; adharma diverts the fruit of the rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the māhātmya teaches how to perform śrāddha there with proper purity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not perform śrāddha with unjustly acquired resources; it fails to satisfy the intended pitṛs.