Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

पितृमेधफलं कृत्स्नं श्राद्धदानादवाप्नुयुः

Transliteration

pitṛmedhaphalaṃ kṛtsnaṃ śrāddhadānādavāpnuyuḥ

Translation

By making gifts in connection with Śrāddha, they obtain in full the fruit of the Pitṛmedha sacrifice.

Word by Word

• पितृमेधफलम्: the fruit of the pitṛmedha rite
• पितृमेधफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + मेध + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘पितॄणां मेधः’ तस्य फलम्

• कृत्स्नम्: entire/complete
• कृत्स्नम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्स्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम्

• श्राद्धदानात्: from (the act of) giving śrāddha-offerings
• श्राद्धदानात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध + दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘श्राद्धस्य दानम्’

• अवाप्नुयुः: would obtain/may obtain
• अवाप्नुयुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Paulastya (deduced from local narrative context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Manuṣya Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim performs śrāddha: offering piṇḍa and water, then giving gifts to brāhmaṇas beside the tīrtha; in the subtle realm, pitṛs receive offerings and bless the donor; a yajña-fire motif faintly appears to signify Pitṛmedha equivalence.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛmedha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma elevates accessible rites—charity linked to Śrāddha—by equating their merit with major sacrificial results when performed with devotion and correctness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Manuṣya Tīrtha prabhāva (glory) described in Adhyāya 28 of Arbuda Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha-related dāna (charitable gifting as part of ancestral rites).