Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

यावद्भिः संस्पृशत्यङ्गैर्ब्राह्मणाञ्छ्रूद्रयाजकः । तावतां न भवेत्प्रेत्य दातुर्वा तस्य पैत्रिकम्

Transliteration

yāvadbhiḥ saṃspṛśatyaṅgairbrāhmaṇāñchrūdrayājakaḥ | tāvatāṃ na bhavetpretya dāturvā tasya paitrikam

Translation

A tantos brāhmaṇas como toque con sus miembros el sacerdote que oficia ritos para śūdras, a tantos —tras la muerte— no habrá beneficio ancestral (pitṛ) para el donante (o para él).

Word by Word

• yāvadbhiḥ: with as many (as)
• yāvadbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), बहुवचनम्; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

• saṃspṛśati: touches
• saṃspṛśati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√spṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• aṅgaiḥ: with limbs
• aṅgaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• brāhmaṇān: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• śūdra-yājakaḥ: a priest who officiates for śūdras
• śūdra-yājakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + yājaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (शूद्रं याजयति इति/शूद्रस्य याजकः)

• tāvatām: of that many
• tāvatām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), बहुवचनम्; परिमाणवाचकः

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation)

• bhavet: would be/should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• pretya: after death
• pretya: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√i (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive): ‘having died/after death’

• dātuḥ: of the donor
• dātuḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vā: or
• vā: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम् (disjunctive particle)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-शब्दः

• paitrikam: ancestral (rite/benefit)
• paitrikam: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paitrika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्; ‘पितृ-सम्बन्धि’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunakādayaḥ (typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha setting at Prabhāsa: a donor seated with kuśa grass and piṇḍas; an officiant whose touch is shown as ritually contaminating nearby brāhmaṇas; in the background, subtle departing Pitṛs turning away, indicating blocked ancestral benefit.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• brāhmaṇa
• pitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity and proper officiation are linked to pitṛ-benefit; dharma warns that compromised ritual associations can obstruct ancestral merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the māhātmya teaches careful performance of rites to secure both worldly and ancestral outcomes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A caution regarding ritual contact and officiants: association with a śūdrayājaka is said to negate paitṛka benefit proportionally.