Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

क्षुत्पिपासार्तदेहाश्च पितरस्तस्य दुःखिताः । स्थास्यंति वत्सरं यावदेतदाह पितामहः

Transliteration

kṣutpipāsārtadehāśca pitarastasya duḥkhitāḥ | sthāsyaṃti vatsaraṃ yāvadetadāha pitāmahaḥ

Translation

Ses ancêtres (pitṛ), le corps tourmenté par la faim et la soif, demeureront dans la souffrance jusqu’à une année entière—ainsi l’a proclamé Pitāmaha (Brahmā).

Word by Word

• क्षुत्-पिपासा-आर्त-देहाः: having bodies afflicted by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्-पिपासा-आर्त-देहाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पिपासा (प्रातिपदिक) + आर्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्षुत्पिपासाभ्याम् आर्ताः देहाः येषां ते)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that (person)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• दुःखिताः: distressed
• दुःखिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःखित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• स्थास्यन्ति: will remain/stand
• स्थास्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• वत्सरम्: for a year
• वत्सरम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणार्थे (duration)

• यावत्: until/as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Limiter/अवधि-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधिबोधक (until/as long as)

• एतत्: this (statement/thing)
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आह: said
• आह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्/आह् (धातु: √अह् ‘to say’)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पितामहः: the grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Bhagavān

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śrī Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Assemblage of sages (naimiṣāraṇya frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A liminal pitṛ-loka tableau: emaciated ancestors with parched throats stand in a shadowed intermediate realm, while Brahmā (Pitāmaha) pronounces the rule; below, a devotee prepares śrāddha offerings (piṇḍa, water, sesame).

Characters & Entities

• Pitaraḥ (ancestors)
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Hunger and thirst (kṣut-pipāsā)
• Śrāddha (implied from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of pitṛ-dharma has real spiritual consequences; śrāddha is portrayed as compassionate sustenance for the departed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger passage exalts Gayā for liberation-giving śrāddha, though this verse stresses the consequence of omission rather than a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly: perform the ordained śrāddha; otherwise the ancestors are said to endure hunger and thirst for up to a year.