Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

यावन्नरत्रयं राजन्मातृतः पितृतस्तथा । तेषां च परतो ये च ते स्वकर्म शुभाशुभम् । भुंजते क्षुत्पिपासा च न तेषां जायते क्व् चित्

Transliteration

yāvannaratrayaṃ rājanmātṛtaḥ pitṛtastathā | teṣāṃ ca parato ye ca te svakarma śubhāśubham | bhuṃjate kṣutpipāsā ca na teṣāṃ jāyate kv cit

Translation

Ô roi, tant que demeurent comme appui les « trois personnes » du côté maternel et pareillement du côté paternel, et aussi pour ceux qui sont au-delà d’elles, ils subissent le bon et le mauvais de leur propre karma; et la faim et la soif ne naissent pour eux nulle part.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as / until
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक (until/as long as)

• nara-trayam: the three persons (three generations)
• nara-trayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष (three of men = three persons)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• mātṛtaḥ: from the mother’s side
• mātṛtaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb); ‘मातृ’ + तः = from the mother’s side

• pitṛtaḥ: from the father’s side
• pitṛtaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; ‘पितृ’ + तः = from the father’s side

• tathā: likewise / also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थ (so/likewise/also)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (and)

• parataḥ: afterwards / beyond
• parataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal/Spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: parataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘पर’ + तः (from beyond/afterwards; later)

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• sva-karma: their own karma/deed
• sva-karma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (one’s own deed)

• śubha-aśubham: good and bad
• śubha-aśubham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + aśubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (good and bad) विशेषणम् ‘कर्म’

• bhuṃjate: they experience/enjoy (the results)
• bhuṃjate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• kṣut-pipāsā: hunger and thirst
• kṣut-pipāsā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक ‘kṣut’) + pipāsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (hunger and thirst)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

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

• teṣām: for them / of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• jāyate: arises / is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• kvacit: ever / anywhere
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक (anywhere/ever)

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ancestors in subtle realms receiving sustaining offerings; a living descendant pours water (tarpaṇa) and offers rice-balls (piṇḍa), creating a stream of relief that removes hunger and thirst.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The departed are portrayed as being sustained by an extended network of lineage-support, mitigating suffering while karma is being experienced.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is doctrinal support for why tīrtha-rites and ancestral offerings are valued.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not stated explicitly, but the verse’s logic aligns with śrāddha/offerings performed by descendants to support the departed.