Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

यथोषश्चक्रवाक्यश्च वांछन्ति रवि दर्शनम् । पितरस्तद्वदिच्छंति श्राद्धं दर्शसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

yathoṣaścakravākyaśca vāṃchanti ravi darśanam | pitarastadvadicchaṃti śrāddhaṃ darśasamudbhavam

Translation

Comme l’aurore et l’oiseau cakravāka désirent voir le Soleil, ainsi les Pitṛs désirent pareillement le Śrāddha lié au Darśa (l’observance de la nouvelle lune).

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थक

• उषाः: dawn
• उषाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उषस्/उषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• चक्रवाक्यः: the cakravāka bird
• चक्रवाक्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रवाक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• वाञ्छन्ति: desire
• वाञ्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वाञ्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• रवि: of the sun
• रवि: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (रवेः) — पद्ये रूप-लोप/प्रयोगः

• दर्शनम्: sight; seeing
• दर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘like that’

• इच्छन्ति: desire
• इच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्/इच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha offering/rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• दर्श-समुद्भवम्: arising from the Darśa (new-moon) day
• दर्श-समुद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दर्श (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः ‘दर्शात् समुद्भवम्’ (arising from the new-moon day)

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: rosy dawn (uṣas) and a pair of cakravāka birds gazing toward the rising Sun; in a parallel plane, subtle Pitṛs look toward a household where śrāddha is to be offered on Darśa.

Characters & Entities

• Pitaras
• Darśa (new moon rite)
• Ravi (Sun)
• Uṣas (dawn)
• Cakravāka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśa (new moon) is singled out as a spiritually potent time when ancestors strongly await remembrance and offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The line underscores the sanctity of the Darśa observance within a tirtha-glorifying chapter; no single tirtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Darśa-related Śrāddha (amāvāsyā śrāddha) for the satisfaction of the Pitṛs.