Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तत्र पिण्डप्रदानेन पितॄणां जायते परा । तृप्तिर्वर्षशतं यावदेतदाह पुरा हरिः

Transliteration

tatra piṇḍapradānena pitṝṇāṃ jāyate parā | tṛptirvarṣaśataṃ yāvadetadāha purā hariḥ

Translation

Dort entsteht durch die Darbringung von piṇḍas für die Pitṛs (Ahnen) höchste Sättigung, die hundert Jahre währt; so verkündete Hari in alter Zeit.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक)

• पिण्डप्रदानेन: by offering piṇḍas (funeral rice-balls)
• पिण्डप्रदानेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘पिण्डस्य प्रदानम्’ = offering of piṇḍa)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• जायते: arises, is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• परा: supreme, great
• परा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (तृप्तिः इति पदं विशेषयति)

• तृप्तिः: satisfaction, contentment
• तृप्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• वर्षशतम्: for a hundred years
• वर्षशतम्: Kala-adhikarana (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कालपरिमाण/अवधि), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (‘शतं वर्षाणि’ = a hundred years)

• यावत्: up to, for as long as
• यावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Limit of duration/कालसीमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण/अवधिबोधक = as long as, up to)

• एतत्: this (statement/teaching)
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म (उक्तविषयः)

• आह: said
• आह: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्/ब्रू (धातु; ‘आह’ इति परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णवाचक रूपम्)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक = formerly/once)

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit from v.16)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (śrāddha-sthāna at the referenced tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘deveśi’ in adjacent verse; here implicit audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha scene on a ghāṭa: the karta seated facing south, offering piṇḍas on darbha with sesame and water; a priest guides; subtle presence of satisfied pitṛs in the air; Hari’s approving witness suggested iconographically.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Piṇḍa
• Hari
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Care for ancestors through dharmic offerings is highly meritorious, and tīrtha-context amplifies its spiritual efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, as a potent place for piṇḍadāna and pitṛ rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-pradāna (offering funerary rice-balls) for the ancestors.