Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 150

Devanagari script

नकुर्याद्यद्यपि श्राद्धं मातापित्रोर्मृतेऽहनि । कुर्यान्महालयश्राद्धमस्मरन्नेव बुद्धिमान्

Transliteration

nakuryādyadyapi śrāddhaṃ mātāpitrormṛte'hani | kuryānmahālayaśrāddhamasmaranneva buddhimān

Translation

Même si l’on n’accomplit pas le śrāddha au jour anniversaire de la mort de la mère et du père, le sage doit néanmoins accomplir le śrāddha de Mahālaya, sans l’oublier.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्; धातु: कृ

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional conjunction)

• api: even/although
• api: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (concessive/also particle)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचनम्

• mātāpitroḥ: of (one's) mother and father
• mātāpitroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ + pitṛ (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (माता+पिता); पुं/स्त्री-समाहारः, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), द्विवचनम्

• mṛte: when (they are) dead
• mṛte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), √mṛ (मृ धातु); सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचनम्; नपुंसक/पुं-प्रयोगे 'मृते' (when dead)

• ahani: on the day
• ahani: Adhikarana (Time-locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्

• mahālayaśrāddham: Mahālaya śrāddha
• mahālayaśrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahālaya + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महालयस्य श्राद्धम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचनम्

• asmaran: not remembering
• asmaran: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), परस्मैपदी; प्रथमा एकवचनम् पुंलिङ्ग (कर्तरि), नकार-उपसर्गेण 'अस्मरन्' = not remembering

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• buddhimān: a wise man
• buddhimān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: buddhimant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahālaya (Pitṛ-pakṣa) observance at Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder at a coastal tīrtha performs Mahālaya śrāddha: darbha spread, piṇḍas offered, water-tarpaṇa toward the south, with brāhmaṇas seated; the sea and a distant temple silhouette suggest Setukṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Mahālaya
• Śrāddha
• Mātā
• Pitṛ (father)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mahālaya śrāddha is emphasized as a major, non-negotiable remembrance of ancestors within dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setukhaṇḍa backdrop frames the teaching, but the verse is primarily about the time-bound duty of Mahālaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not neglect Mahālaya śrāddha, even if the specific death-anniversary śrāddha was not performed.