Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सोमवंशं समुद्दिश्य श्राद्धं यच्छति भक्तितः

Transliteration

somavaṃśaṃ samuddiśya śrāddhaṃ yacchati bhaktitaḥ

Translation

«Avec dévotion, il offre le śrāddha, en le dédiant au Somavaṃśa, la lignée lunaire.»

Word by Word

• सोमवंशम्: the Soma dynasty
• सोमवंशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम-वंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समुद्दिश्य: having addressed/with reference to
• समुद्दिश्य: Purva-kala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्+उद्+दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• यच्छति: gives, offers
• यच्छति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भक्तितः: out of devotion, devoutly
• भक्तितः: Hetu (Cause/Manner/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

Speaker

Narrative voice within Bhartṛyajña episode (contextual narrator)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The patron performs saṅkalpa with water in hand (añjali), facing priests; above, a symbolic crescent moon and a stylized ancestral line indicating Somavaṃśa dedication.

Characters & Entities

• Somavaṃśa
• Śrāddha
• Bhakti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral rites gain potency when performed with clear intention (saṅkalpa) and devotion, linking personal dharma to lineage memory.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya setting; this line itself highlights lineage-dedication rather than a named site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It indicates the saṅkalpa/dedication aspect of śrāddha—offering it while explicitly intending it for a particular lineage (Somavaṃśa).