Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 125

Devanagari script

श्राद्धकल्पं पठेद्यो वै स भवेत्पंक्तिपावनः । अष्टादशानां विद्यानां स च वै पारगः स्मृतः

Transliteration

śrāddhakalpaṃ paṭhedyo vai sa bhavetpaṃktipāvanaḥ | aṣṭādaśānāṃ vidyānāṃ sa ca vai pāragaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Wer die Śrāddha-kalpa rezitiert, wird zum Reiniger der ganzen Speisereihe (paṅkti); und man gedenkt seiner als eines, der die achtzehn Wissenszweige gemeistert hat.

Word by Word

• श्राद्धकल्पम्: the Śrāddha-ritual manual
• श्राद्धकल्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘श्राद्धस्य कल्पः’ (श्राद्धविधि-ग्रन्थ/प्रकरण)

• पठेत्: should read/recite
• पठेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पंक्तिपावनः: purifier of the (dining) line/company
• पंक्तिपावनः: Karta-pratipādaka (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पंक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + पावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘पंक्तेः पावनः’

• अष्टादशानाम्: of the eighteen
• अष्टादशानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (विद्याः इति), षष्ठी, बहुवचन; द्विगुसमासः (अष्ट + दश)

• विद्यानाम्: of sciences/branches of knowledge
• विद्यानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात

• पारगः: a master, one who has mastered
• पारगः: Karta-pratipādaka (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पारग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘पारं गतः’ इति व्युत्पत्त्या (one who has gone to the far shore = master)

• स्मृतः: is said to be
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Copular/predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is considered/remembered’

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Śrāddha-kalpa recitation)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied addressee within the chapter’s dialogue (addressed elsewhere as ‘bhāminī’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned reciter holding a palm-leaf manuscript titled ‘Śrāddha-kalpa’, seated before a row of brāhmaṇas (pāṅkti) about to be fed; sacred vessels with tila and water; atmosphere of ritual order and purity.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddhakalpa
• Aṣṭādaśa-vidyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Learning and transmitting correct ritual knowledge is itself purifying and socially uplifting.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where Śrāddha-kalpa is taught as part of the site’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Study/recite the Śrāddha-kalpa (procedural rules) to ensure purity and correctness in rites.