Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

तत्र ये मानवा भक्त्या श्राद्धं दास्यंति सत्तमाः । पितॄणां ते विमानस्था यास्यंति त्रिदिवालयम्

Transliteration

tatra ye mānavā bhaktyā śrāddhaṃ dāsyaṃti sattamāḥ | pitṝṇāṃ te vimānasthā yāsyaṃti tridivālayam

Translation

„Dort werden die vortrefflichen Menschen, die in Hingabe das Śrāddha darbringen, — ihre Pitṛs (Ahnen) werden, in himmlischen Vimānas sitzend, zur Tridivālaya, der Wohnstatt der Götter, emporsteigen.“

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (relative pronoun)

• mānavāḥ: men / humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Apposition to ye)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• dāsyanti: will give
• dāsyanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• sattamāḥ: excellent / best
• sattamāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of mānavāḥ)

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vimāna-sthāḥ: seated in aerial cars
• vimāna-sthāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vimāna (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sthā)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: "विमाने स्थाः"; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of te)

• yāsyanti: will go
• yāsyanti: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• tridiva-ālayam: the abode of heaven
• tridiva-ālayam: Karma (Destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tridiva (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: "त्रिदिवस्य आलयः"; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Paryuṣita

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual locus of the verse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Prabhāsa’s sacred shore/ghāṭa, a devotee offers piṇḍa and water-libations; above, Pitṛs rise in radiant vimānas toward a luminous devaloka.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)
• Paryuṣita

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional śrāddha at a sanctified place directly supports the ancestors’ onward journey and higher realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa-kṣetra spot connected with Gautama’s āśrama and later remembered as Pretatīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing śrāddha with bhakti at that location for the benefit of one’s Pitṛs.