Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पितर ऊचुः । वयं शुद्धसमाचारा नित्यं धर्मपरायणाः । दानयज्ञतपःशीलाः स्वदारनिरतास्तथा

Transliteration

pitara ūcuḥ | vayaṃ śuddhasamācārā nityaṃ dharmaparāyaṇāḥ | dānayajñatapaḥśīlāḥ svadāraniratāstathā

Translation

Les ancêtres dirent : «Nous avions une conduite pure et demeurions sans cesse voués au dharma ; portés au don (dāna), au sacrifice (yajña) et à l’austérité (tapas), et fidèles à nos propres épouses.»

Word by Word

• pitaraḥ: the forefathers
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Speech/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• śuddha-samācārāḥ: of pure conduct
• śuddha-samācārāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (शुद्धः समाचारः येषां ते)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Sambandha (Time/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय: क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

• dharma-parāyaṇāḥ: devoted to dharma
• dharma-parāyaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (धर्मे परायणाः)

• dāna-yajña-tapaḥ-śīlāḥ: having the habit of charity, sacrifice, and austerity
• dāna-yajña-tapaḥ-śīlāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + śīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/बहुपद-समास: दानं च यज्ञश्च तपश्च (एतेषु) शीलं येषां ते

• svadāra-niratāḥ: devoted to one’s own wife
• svadāra-niratāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक) + nirata (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वदारेषु निरताः)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Addition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय: समुच्चय/एवम् (thus/also)

Speaker

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied setting)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king/descendant (addressed as ‘kula-aṅgāra’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn assembly of luminous pitṛs speaking with calm authority, their demeanor pure and restrained, evoking the dignity of dharma and ancestral lineage.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Dharma
• Dāna
• Yajña
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is defined through sustained conduct—charity, sacrifice, austerity, and fidelity—forming the ethical backbone of lineage and spiritual protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly; the Pitṛs’ speech provides the dharmic standard that the tīrtha narrative will address.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It highlights core dharmic disciplines: dāna (charity), yajña (sacrifice), and tapas (austerity), alongside fidelity (svadāra-niyama).