Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

गयायां पिंडदानेन प्रयागमरणेन किम् । सोमेश्वरे सरस्वत्यां सोमपर्वणि किं गतैः

Transliteration

gayāyāṃ piṃḍadānena prayāgamaraṇena kim | someśvare sarasvatyāṃ somaparvaṇi kiṃ gataiḥ

Translation

Was wird erlangt durch das Darbringen von Piṇḍas in Gayā oder durch den Tod in Prayāga? Was wird erlangt durch den Gang nach Someśvara oder zur Sarasvatī am heiligen Tag des Soma-parvan?

Word by Word

• गयायाम्: in Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

• पिण्डदानेन: by offering rice-balls (piṇḍa)
• पिण्डदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: पिण्डस्य दानम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• प्रयागमरणेन: by dying at Prayāga
• प्रयागमरणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग + मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: प्रयागे मरणम् (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• सोमेश्वरे: at Someśvara
• सोमेश्वरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: सोमः ईश्वरः (कर्मधारय/नामधेय); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

• सरस्वत्याम्: at/on the Sarasvatī (river)
• सरस्वत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

• सोमपर्वणि: on the Soma-festival day
• सोमपर्वणि: Adhikarana (Time/occasion/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम + पर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: सोमस्य पर्व (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• गतैः: by going (there)
• गतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural); ‘by those who have gone/going’ (elliptic)

Speaker

Devāṅganā (addressing Indra/Sureśvara) inferred from continuing address

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (implied as comparator)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A litany of famous tirthas is invoked—Gayā with piṇḍa offerings, Prayāga confluence, a Śiva shrine of Someśvara, and the Sarasvatī on Soma-parvan—only to be rhetorically dismissed in favor of the local kṣetra’s fruit.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Prayāga
• Someśvara
• Sarasvatī
• Soma-parvan

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even highly famed tīrtha-acts are portrayed as secondary when compared to the supreme Śiva-centered observance being praised in the passage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Multiple tīrthas are referenced (Gayā, Prayāga, Sarasvatī, Someśvara), but the surrounding māhātmya centers on Vastrāpathakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍadāna (ancestor offerings) at Gayā and the belief in merit of dying at Prayāga; pilgrimage on Soma-parvan days.