Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

पितृपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां कन्यासंस्थे दिवाकरे । पितामहो न गृह्णाति पित्रा तेन समं तदा

Transliteration

pitṛpakṣe caturdaśyāṃ kanyāsaṃsthe divākare | pitāmaho na gṛhṇāti pitrā tena samaṃ tadā

Translation

Dans le Pitṛpakṣa, au quatorzième jour lunaire, lorsque le Soleil se tient dans la Vierge, le grand-père n’accepte pas l’offrande, car alors il est au même rang que le père.

Word by Word

• पितृपक्षे: in the fortnight of the ancestors (pitṛpakṣa)
• पितृपक्षे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृपक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां पक्षः)

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.)

• कन्यासंस्थे: when (the sun) is in Virgo (Kanyā)
• कन्यासंस्थे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्या + संस्थ (कृदन्त; √स्था + सम्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.); तत्पुरुषः (कन्यायां संस्थः); विशेषणं दिवाकरे

• दिवाकरे: when the sun (day-maker) is (there)
• दिवाकरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.); कर्मधारयः (दिवा करोति इति)

• पितामहः: the grandfather
• पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• गृह्णाति: accepts, receives
• गृह्णाति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पित्रा: with the father
• पित्रा: Sahakari (Association/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• तेन: with him (that one)
• तेन: Sahakari (Association/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; तृतीया एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• समम्: together, equally
• समम्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तुल्यभाववाचक (adverb: equally/together)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher addressing a king)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājan (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage points to a pañcāṅga/astral diagram showing the Sun in Virgo while explaining that on Pitṛpakṣa caturdaśī the pitāmaha does not accept offerings, due to parity with the father.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛpakṣa
• caturdaśī
• Sūrya (divākara)
• Kanyā (Virgo)
• pitāmaha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma links ritual reception to sacred time (tithi and solar transit), teaching careful alignment of rites with cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse highlights calendrical conditions (Pitṛpakṣa, caturdaśī, Sun in Kanyā) rather than a named pilgrimage site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It indicates that the pitāmaha (grandfather) does not receive śrāddha on that specific Pitṛpakṣa timing, implying avoidance of certain ancestral targets then.