Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 210

Devanagari script

प्रतिगृह्णंत्विमं पिंडं काका भूमौ मयार्पितम् । द्वौ श्वानौ श्यामशबलौ वैवस्वतकुलोद्भवौ

Transliteration

pratigṛhṇaṃtvimaṃ piṃḍaṃ kākā bhūmau mayārpitam | dvau śvānau śyāmaśabalau vaivasvatakulodbhavau

Translation

Que les corbeaux reçoivent ce piṇḍa que j’ai déposé sur la terre. Et que soient apaisés les deux chiens — l’un sombre, l’autre tacheté — issus de la lignée de Vaivasvata (Yama).

Word by Word

• pratigṛhṇantu: let them accept
• pratigṛhṇantu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati-grah (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; √ग्रह् (grah) with उपसर्ग prati-

• imam: this
• imam: Visheshana (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• piṇḍam: rice-ball offering (piṇḍa)
• piṇḍam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kākāḥ: crows
• kākāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• arpitam: offered / placed
• arpitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arpita (प्रातिपदिक; √arp/अर्प्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग

• dvau: two
• dvau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• śvānau: dogs
• śvānau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• śyāma-śabalau: black and speckled
• śyāma-śabalau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śyāma (प्रातिपदिक) + śabala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; द्वन्द्व ‘श्यामः च शबलः’—द्वयोः विशेषणम्

• vaivasvata-kula-udbhavau: born of Vaivasvata’s lineage
• vaivasvata-kula-udbhavau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaivasvata (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः ‘वैवस्वतकुलात् उद्भव’ (born from the lineage of Vaivasvata)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (piṇḍa-dāna/śrāddha-sthāna at ghāṭas)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a ghat-side open space, a performer places a piṇḍa on the ground; crows gather; in a subtle mythic overlay, two dogs—one dark, one mottled—stand watch as Yama’s emissaries.

Characters & Entities

• Piṇḍa
• Kāka (crows)
• Śvāna (dogs)
• Vaivasvata (Yama)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Offerings made with proper intent and formula are believed to reach the intended recipients within the ancestral order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is taught within Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s sacred setting of Kāśī, famed for śrāddha and pitṛ-karmas, though no ghat is specified.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Place a piṇḍa on the ground and invoke acceptance by crows; the verse also references the two dogs associated with Yama’s domain.