Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 135

Devanagari script

अमावास्यां विशेषेण प्रेतपक्षे च पार्थिव

Transliteration

amāvāsyāṃ viśeṣeṇa pretapakṣe ca pārthiva

Translation

Surtout au jour d’Amāvāsyā (nouvelle lune) et aussi durant la quinzaine des défunts (Pretapakṣa), ô roi.

Word by Word

• amāvāsyām: on the new-moon day
• amāvāsyām: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amāvāsyā (अमावास्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (विशेष-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभाव (adverbial instrumental); क्रियाविशेषण

• pretapakṣe: in the fortnight of the departed (pitṛ period)
• pretapakṣe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रेत) + pakṣa (पक्ष)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रेतानां पक्षः); पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• pārthiva: O king
• pārthiva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (पार्थिव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified teacher/narrator addressing a king (pārthiva)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moonless Amāvāsyā sky over a river ghāṭa; lines of devotees perform tarpaṇa; a calendar-like panel shows the Pretapakṣa fortnight; the atmosphere is reverent and time-marked.

Characters & Entities

• Amāvāsyā
• Pretapakṣa (Pitṛpakṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred timing matters: certain lunar periods are especially conducive for ancestral rites and their intended spiritual efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named; the verse highlights auspicious ritual times within a tīrtha-māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Emphasis is placed on performing Śrāddha particularly on Amāvāsyā and during Pretapakṣa (Pitṛpakṣa).