Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पिंडे गयाशतगुणममासोमयुते दिने । भूतायां पिंडदस्तत्र कुलकोटिं समुद्धरेत्

Transliteration

piṃḍe gayāśataguṇamamāsomayute dine | bhūtāyāṃ piṃḍadastatra kulakoṭiṃ samuddharet

Translation

Offering a piṇḍa (funerary oblation) there yields merit a hundred times greater than at Gayā, especially when performed on the new-moon day conjoined with Monday. If one offers piṇḍa there on the Bhūtā tithi, he uplifts even a crore of his lineage.

Word by Word

• पिण्डे: in/at the piṇḍa-offering
• पिण्डे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गया-शत-गुणम्: a hundred times (the merit) of Gayā
• गया-शत-गुणम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गया + शत + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (gaya-śata-guṇa: ‘hundredfold of Gayā’) विशेषण

• अमासोमयुते: on a day connected with Amāvāsyā and Soma
• अमासोमयुते: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमावास्या + सोम + युत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (day ‘joined with’ new-moon and Soma) विशेषण

• दिने: on the day
• दिने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भूतायाम्: on Bhūtā (tithi/occasion)
• भूतायाम्: Kaaladhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कालवाचक (on the Bhūtā tithi/occasion)

• पिण्डदः: the one who offers piṇḍa
• पिण्डदः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (giver of piṇḍa)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• कुलकोटिम्: a crore of (his) lineage-members
• कुलकोटिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (a crore of families/lineages)

• समुद्धरेत्: would uplift/deliver
• समुद्धरेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उद्+हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa Māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (piṇḍa-dāna tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquiring sages/devotees (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim performs piṇḍa-dāna at Prabhāsa on Amāvāsyā with Somavāra-yoga; offerings of rice-balls and sesame are placed near sacred waters while priests chant; ancestral presence is suggested subtly, emphasizing lineage uplift.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Amāvasyā
• Soma (Monday)
• Bhūtā (tithi)
• Prabhāsa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography amplifies dharma: performing pitṛ-karmas at Prabhāsa is portrayed as exceptionally potent for ancestral uplift.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), whose śrāddha and piṇḍa offerings are praised as surpassing even Gayā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-dāna/śrāddha, especially on Amāvasyā falling on a Monday, and on the Bhūtā tithi.