Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पायसं गुडसंयुक्तं हविष्यं च गुडप्लुतम् । नमो वः पितरो रसाय अन्नाद्यमभिमंत्रयेत्

Transliteration

pāyasaṃ guḍasaṃyuktaṃ haviṣyaṃ ca guḍaplutam | namo vaḥ pitaro rasāya annādyamabhimaṃtrayet

Translation

Man soll die Speiseopfer weihen—Payasa (Milchreis) mit Jaggery gesüßt und Haviṣya, von Jaggery durchtränkt—und dabei sprechen: „Ehrerbietung euch, o Pitṛs, ihr Ahnenväter, um der Gabe des rasa, der nährenden Essenz, willen.“

Word by Word

• पायसम्: rice-pudding
• पायसम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• गुडसंयुक्तम्: mixed with jaggery
• गुडसंयुक्तम्: विशेषण (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुड + संयुक्त (कृदन्त) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘संयुक्त’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (गुडेन संयुक्तम्)

• हविष्यम्: havis-offering (sacrificial food)
• हविष्यम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (and)

• गुडप्लुतम्: soaked/covered with jaggery
• गुडप्लुतम्: विशेषण (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुड + प्लुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (गुडेन प्लुतम्/परिप्लुतम् = ‘soaked/covered with jaggery’)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: सम्बन्ध (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय-शब्दः; नमः-प्रयोगः (salutation formula)

• वः: to you / of you
• वः: सम्प्रदान (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/4th), बहुवचन; एन्क्लिटिक रूप (to you/of you)

• पितरः: O Fathers (manes)
• पितरः: सम्बोधन/कर्ता (Addressed ones/सम्बोधन-प्राय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• रसाय: for rasa (sap/essence)
• रसाय: सम्प्रदान (Purpose/recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• अन्नाद्यम्: food and other eatables
• अन्नाद्यम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न + आद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (अन्नं च आद्यं च = food and edibles)

• अभिमन्त्रयेत्: should consecrate by mantra
• अभिमन्त्रयेत्: क्रिया (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-मन्त्र् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clean ritual space near Prabhāsa waters: a performer offers bowls of guda-pāyasa and jaggery-soaked haviṣya; kusa grass, water vessel, and lamps arranged; the mantra ‘namo vaḥ pitaraḥ…’ is shown as sacred script rising like incense; subtle ancestral silhouettes receive the offering.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Pāyasa
• Guḍa (jaggery)
• Haviṣya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gratitude to ancestors is dharma; nourishing offerings, sanctified by mantra, sustain the lineage’s spiritual welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ritual context belongs to Devikā-taṭa/Bhūdhara within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer pāyasa with jaggery and jaggery-soaked haviṣya, and consecrate the offerings with a Pitṛ-directed mantra of obeisance.