Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

स एकः परमः पुत्रो यो गत्वा तत्र सुन्दरि । ददेच्छ्राद्धं पितॄणां च तस्यांतो नैव विद्यते

Transliteration

sa ekaḥ paramaḥ putro yo gatvā tatra sundari | dadecchrāddhaṃ pitṝṇāṃ ca tasyāṃto naiva vidyate

Translation

O Schöne, nur der ist ein höchster Sohn, der dorthin geht und den Pitṛs das Śrāddha darbringt; für dieses Verdienst wird wahrlich kein Ende gefunden.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एकः: one
• एकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• परमः: supreme/most excellent
• परमः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

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

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive) = ‘having gone’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• सुन्दरि: O beautiful one
• सुन्दरि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुन्दरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• ददेत्: should give/offer
• ददेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha offering
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

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

• तस्य: of it/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अन्तः: end/limit
• अन्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha (pitṛ-śrāddha-pradhāna)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sundarī Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted son arrives after travel, bows at the riverbank, performs śrāddha for pitṛs; behind him, a faint ancestral presence receives offerings; the horizon suggests the vastness of ‘endless’ merit.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Śrāddha
• Devī (addressed as Sundarī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Filial dharma is fulfilled through honoring ancestors; at a great tīrtha, that duty yields inexhaustible merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘there’ refers to the Devikā-taṭa/Umāpatīśvara setting within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha for the Pitṛs at that holy place.