Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सर्प्पे वह्नि विषैर्वा ये नाशं नीताः पितामहाः । अपुत्रा वा सपुत्रा वा सपिण्डीकरणं विना

Transliteration

sarppe vahni viṣairvā ye nāśaṃ nītāḥ pitāmahāḥ | aputrā vā saputrā vā sapiṇḍīkaraṇaṃ vinā

Translation

„Ob die Großväter durch eine Schlange, durch Feuer oder durch Gift zugrunde gingen; ob sie ohne Söhne starben oder selbst mit Söhnen, doch ohne den Ritus des Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa — mögen sie durch die hier vollzogenen Handlungen Nutzen empfangen.“

Word by Word

• सर्पे: by/with a snake; in (case of) a snake
• सर्पे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• वह्नि: in fire
• वह्नि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (वह्नौ/वह्नि—वैदिक/काव्यप्रयोग)

• विषैः: by poisons
• विषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

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

• नाशम्: destruction; death
• नाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• नीताः: led to; brought to
• नीताः: Kriya-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नी (धातु) → नीत (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: 'led/brought' (to)

• पितामहाः: grandfathers; ancestors
• पितामहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• अपुत्राः: sonless
• अपुत्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त: 'without sons'

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• सपुत्राः: having sons
• सपुत्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; 'with sons'

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• सपिण्डीकरणम्: the rite of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• सपिण्डीकरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सपिण्डीकरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; श्राद्धकर्मविशेष (technical ritual term)

• विना: without
• विना: Nishedha (Exclusion/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-योगे तृतीया/द्वितीया-सम्बन्धार्थक; 'without'

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual prayer within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unspecified within the excerpt

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual platform by the waters of Prabhāsa: offerings are made for ancestors who died by snakebite, fire, or poison; symbolic serpent, flame, and poison vessel appear as subdued motifs while ancestors receive piṇḍas and become peaceful.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmahāḥ
• Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
• Sarpa
• Vahni
• Viṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-based pitṛ rites can extend grace even to ancestors who suffered untimely or ritually incomplete deaths.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a place where pitṛ-related deficiencies can be remedied.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is referenced as a key ancestral rite; the passage frames Prabhāsa rites as compensating for its absence.