Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तत्र ज्येष्ठे त्वमावास्यां प्राप्यते नाधमैर्न्नरैः । पिंडदानं विशेषेण स्नानं श्रद्धासमन्वितैः

Transliteration

tatra jyeṣṭhe tvamāvāsyāṃ prāpyate nādhamairnnaraiḥ | piṃḍadānaṃ viśeṣeṇa snānaṃ śraddhāsamanvitaiḥ

Translation

Dort, am Neumondstag des Monats Jyeṣṭha, erlangen niedrig gesinnte Menschen nicht die volle Frucht; sie wird von den Glaubensvollen erlangt, besonders durch die Darbringung von piṇḍas und durch das heilige Bad.

Word by Word

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

• jyeṣṭhe: in (the month of) Jyeṣṭha
• jyeṣṭhe: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; मास-नाम (in the month Jyeṣṭha)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• amāvāsyām: on the new-moon day
• amāvāsyām: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amāvāsyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (on new-moon day)

• prāpyate: is obtained
• prāpyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) उपसर्ग-प्र (प्र + आप्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (is obtained/attained)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• adhamaiḥ: by base/low (people)
• adhamaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण — ‘नरैः’

• naraiḥ: by men/people
• naraiḥ: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; कर्तृ-करणभाव (agent in passive construction)

• piṃḍadānam: offering of piṇḍas (funeral oblations)
• piṃḍadānam: Karma (Object/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṃḍa-dāna (प्रातिपदिक; पिण्ड + दान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म/विधेय (ritual act)

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभाव (adverbial instrumental) — ‘विशेषेण’ (especially)

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म/विधेय

• śraddhāsamanvitaiḥ: by those endowed with faith
• śraddhāsamanvitaiḥ: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā-samanvita (प्रातिपदिक; श्रद्धा + समन्वित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण — (जनैः) implied; ‘with faith’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from surrounding adhyāyas in this section)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Jyeṣṭha-amāvāsyā observance)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: New-moon twilight at a sacred confluence; pilgrims with wet garments after snāna offer piṇḍas on darbha grass, lamps flicker, and the mood is solemn and faith-filled.

Characters & Entities

• Jyeṣṭha
• Amāvāsyā
• Piṇḍadāna
• Snāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha-fruit arises from śraddhā (faith and sincerity), not merely from outward travel or ritual.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The verse pertains to the Prabhāsa Kṣetra context, specifically the Ṛṣitīrtha-saṅgama setting described in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍadāna (ancestral oblations) and sacred snāna (bathing), performed with śraddhā, especially on Jyeṣṭha Amāvāsyā.