Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

बह्वीश्च नैचिकीर्दत्त्वा श्रद्धयात्र सदक्षिणाः । शय्योत्तरांश्च प्रत्येकं पितॄंस्तत्र सुवासयेत्

Transliteration

bahvīśca naicikīrdattvā śraddhayātra sadakṣiṇāḥ | śayyottarāṃśca pratyekaṃ pitṝṃstatra suvāsayet

Translation

By giving many naicikī offerings there, with faith and proper dakṣiṇā, and by offering beds and additional gifts, one settles each ancestor comfortably in that sacred realm.

Word by Word

• bahvīḥ: many
• bahvīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; (नैचिकीः इति विशेषणम्)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• naicikīḥ: naicikī offerings/gifts
• naicikīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naicikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; (विशेष-दान/वस्तु-नाम)

• dattvā: having given
• dattvā: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund); धातुः √dā (दा)

• śraddhayā: with faith
• śraddhayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• sa-dakṣiṇāḥ: together with fees (dakṣiṇā)
• sa-dakṣiṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; अव्ययीभावः (सदक्षिणाः = दक्षिणाभिः सह)

• śayyā-uttarān: beds with coverings
• śayyā-uttarān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayyā (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शय्यायाः उत्तराः = bedding with cover/upper cloths)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• pratyekam: each, individually
• pratyekam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratyeka (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; वितरणार्थक-अव्यय (distributive adverb)

• pitṝn: the ancestors
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

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

• su-vāsayet: should lodge/settle comfortably
• su-vāsayet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + √vas (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातुः √vas (वस्, निवासे) causative sense ‘to cause to dwell’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣīroda vicinity (tatra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha pavilion by the ghāṭa: offerings arranged, brāhmaṇas receiving dakṣiṇā; in a celestial overlay, ancestors recline peacefully on beds, indicating ‘comfortable settlement’.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Kṣīroda/Kāśī context (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral rites become fruitful when performed with śraddhā (faith) and generosity, ensuring well-being for the Pitṛs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Kāśī tīrtha-region under discussion (Kṣīroda/Kṣīrābdhi vicinity), famed for Pitṛ-kṛtya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving prescribed donations with dakṣiṇā, including śayyā-dāna (gift of a bed) and supplementary gifts during śrāddha-related observances.