Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

येषां यच्छन्ति ते नैव किंचित्किञ्चित्स्ववंशजाः । क्षुत्पिपासाकुला स्ते च दृश्यन्ते बहुदुःखिताः

Transliteration

yeṣāṃ yacchanti te naiva kiṃcitkiñcitsvavaṃśajāḥ | kṣutpipāsākulā ste ca dṛśyante bahuduḥkhitāḥ

Translation

Mais ceux pour qui leurs propres descendants n’offrent absolument rien—on les voit tourmentés par la faim et la soif, accablés de grandes souffrances.

Word by Word

• येषाम्: of whom/whose
• येषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case/Genitive), बहुवचन

• यच्छन्ति: give
• यच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यम् (धातु; यच्छति-आदेश)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• ते: they (descendants)
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• एव: indeed/at all
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• किञ्चित्: anything
• किञ्चित्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (context: object 'anything'); अनिश्चित-प्रयोग (indefinite)

• किञ्चित्: anything whatsoever
• किञ्चित्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for emphasis)

• स्ववंशजाः: their own descendants
• स्ववंशजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + वंशज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• क्षुत्पिपासाकुलाः: afflicted by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासाकुलाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् + पिपासा + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक); क्षुत् (hunger) + पिपासा (thirst) + आकुल (afflicted)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'te')

• ते: they (those pitṛs)
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

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

• दृश्यन्ते: are seen
• दृश्यन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: 'are seen')

• बहुदुःखिताः: greatly distressed
• बहुदुःखिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु + दुःखित (प्रातिपदिक); बहु (much) + दुःखित (afflicted)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (Purāṇic dialogue context; likely a sage/narrator addressing a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark contrast scene: pitṛs appear emaciated and parched, hands outstretched, set against a dimmer celestial background—an admonitory vision of neglect.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Śrāddha
• Descendants (svavaṃśajāḥ)
• Hunger and thirst (kṣut-pipāsā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of ancestral rites is portrayed as causing real deprivation to Pitṛs, urging descendants to uphold śrāddha-dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it provides the ethical urgency behind tīrtha-based śrāddha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implicitly prescribes giving śrāddha offerings; failing to do so leaves ancestors in distress.