Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

सर्पविप्रहतानां च दंष्ट्रिशृंगिसरीसृपैः । आत्मनस्त्यागिनां चैव श्राद्धमेषां न कारयेत्

Transliteration

sarpaviprahatānāṃ ca daṃṣṭriśṛṃgisarīsṛpaiḥ | ātmanastyāgināṃ caiva śrāddhameṣāṃ na kārayet

Translation

Man soll kein Śrāddha für jene veranlassen, die von einer Schlange getroffen oder von kriechenden Wesen mit Fangzähnen oder Hörnern durch Biss getötet wurden, noch für jene, die ihr eigenes Leben aufgegeben haben (Selbsttötung).

Word by Word

• sarpa-vipra-hatānām: of those killed by a snake or a Brahmin
• sarpa-vipra-hatānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + hata (कृदन्त; √han धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः — ‘सर्पेण/विप्रेण हताः’ (killed by a snake or a Brahmin)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• daṃṣṭri-śṛṃgi-sarīsṛpaiḥ: by fanged and horned reptiles
• daṃṣṭri-śṛṃgi-sarīsṛpaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃṣṭrin (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṃgin (प्रातिपदिक) + sarīsṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/समाहार-द्वन्द्ववत् समासः (descriptive grouping) — ‘दंष्ट्रिणः शृङ्गिणः (ये) सरीसृपाः’

• ātmanaḥ: of oneself
• ātmanaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• tyāginām: of self-abandoners (suicides)
• tyāginām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tyāgin (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘त्यागिन्’ = one who abandons (here: self-destroyer)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• eṣām: of these (persons)
• eṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• kārayet: should not cause (it) to be performed
• kārayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) causative (णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative) — ‘कारयेत्’ = should cause to be done/should have performed

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber advisory scene: a priest gestures ‘do not’ over a śrāddha setup; in the background, symbolic motifs—serpent, horned/biting creature silhouettes, and a darkened figure representing self-destruction—appear as cautionary emblems; the Prabhāsa shore/temple silhouette anchors the setting.

Characters & Entities

• Sarpa
• Pitṛ
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ritual law distinguishes categories of death and prescribes/withholds rites accordingly, emphasizing moral-ritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger discourse belongs to Prabhāsa-kṣetra; this verse is primarily a śrāddha rule rather than a site eulogy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition against arranging śrāddha for certain categories: deaths by serpents/creeping biting or horned creatures, and self-destruction.