Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

भर्तृयज्ञ उवाच । तेषां तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा तानाह प्रपितामहः । कृपाविष्टो महाराज सर्वान्पितृगणांस्तथा

Transliteration

bhartṛyajña uvāca | teṣāṃ tadvacanaṃ śrutvā tānāha prapitāmahaḥ | kṛpāviṣṭo mahārāja sarvānpitṛgaṇāṃstathā

Translation

Bhartṛyajña dit : Ayant entendu leurs paroles, le Prāpitāmaha (le grand aïeul), saisi de compassion, s’adressa à toutes ces assemblées de Pitṛs, ô grand roi.

Word by Word

• भर्तृयज्ञः: Bhartṛyajña (proper name)
• भर्तृयज्ञः: Karta (Speaker/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास: भर्तुः यज्ञः (name/proper noun)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘vacanam’)

• वचनम्: speech/words
• वचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): having heard

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• आह: said
• आह: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अह्/√ब्रू (धातु; ‘to say’)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• प्रपितामहः: the great-grandfather
• प्रपितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र-पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कृपाविष्टः: filled with compassion
• कृपाविष्टः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृपा + आविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘prapitāmahaḥ’); समास: कृपया आविष्टः (overcome by compassion)

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समास: महान् राजा (O great king)

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ‘pitṛgaṇān’)

• पितृगणान्: the groups of ancestors
• पितृगणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समास: पितॄणां गणाः (groups of ancestors)

• तथा: also/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अनुरूप (also/likewise)

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña (narrator within the episode)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhartṛyajña narrates: the Prāpitāmaha, moved by compassion, addresses the assembled Pitṛ-hosts in the presence of a king. A solemn council of ancestors, luminous yet austere.

Characters & Entities

• Bhartṛyajña
• Prāpitāmaha
• Pitṛgaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate guidance toward Pitṛ-dharma: the ancestors respond to human conduct and seek uplift through prescribed rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits in a Tīrthamāhātmya setting but does not name a particular tīrtha in this line; it introduces the Pitṛ-focused instruction that follows.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly in this verse; it sets up the Prāpitāmaha’s instruction leading into Amāvāsyā-śrāddha.