Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

जनके मृत्युमापन्ने श्राद्धपक्षे समागते । पितामहादेः कर्तव्यं श्राद्धं यन्नैकपिंडता

Transliteration

janake mṛtyumāpanne śrāddhapakṣe samāgate | pitāmahādeḥ kartavyaṃ śrāddhaṃ yannaikapiṃḍatā

Translation

Lorsque le père a rencontré la mort et que vient la saison du śrāddha (śrāddha-pakṣa), on doit accomplir le śrāddha pour le grand-père et les autres ancêtres, car l’état d’un piṇḍa unique partagé (naika-piṇḍatā) n’est pas encore établi.

Word by Word

• जनके: when/at (the time of) Janaka
• जनके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative singular

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — accusative singular

• आपन्ने: having occurred (having befallen)
• आपन्ने: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आपद् (धातु) + आपन्न (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — agreeing with जनके; ‘having met/occurred’

• श्राद्धपक्षे: in the śrāddha fortnight
• श्राद्धपक्षे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास (श्राद्धस्य पक्षः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

• समागते: having come/arrived
• समागते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु) + समागत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — agreeing with श्राद्धपक्षे; ‘having arrived’

• पितामहादेः: of the grandfather and others
• पितामहादेः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहारार्थे ‘आदि’-तत्पुरुष (पितामहः आदिः येषाम्), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular

• कर्तव्यम्: to be performed/should be done
• कर्तव्यम्: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + कर्तव्य (कृदन्त, तव्यत्)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicative ‘to be done’

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular (subject of implied ‘is’)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun; correlates with (tad) understood

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• एकपिण्डता: state of being one piṇḍa (single-oblation unity)
• एकपिण्डता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + ता (तद्धित)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (एकः पिण्डः) + ता-प्रत्यय (भाववाचक), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

Speaker

Unknown (continuing narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śrāddha-pakṣa setting: family in mourning white; priest prepares offerings labeled for pitāmaha and older ancestors; the recently deceased father is shown as a separate, waiting figure (preta-like liminality) outside the main pitṛ group, indicating ‘naika-piṇḍatā’.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha-pakṣa
• Pitāmaha (grandfather)
• Piṇḍa
• Sapiṇḍatā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid transitional rites after death, one must maintain ongoing duties to earlier ancestors, preserving continuity of offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate focus is ritual procedure during śrāddha-pakṣa; the surrounding narrative belongs to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya in Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

If the father has died and śrāddha-pakṣa arrives before full piṇḍa-unity is established, perform śrāddha for the grandfather and other ancestors.