Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अन्यायोपार्जितैर्द्रव्यै र्यच्छ्राद्धं क्रियते नरैः । तृप्यंति तेन चण्डालाः पुष्कसाद्यासु योनिषु

Transliteration

anyāyopārjitairdravyai ryacchrāddhaṃ kriyate naraiḥ | tṛpyaṃti tena caṇḍālāḥ puṣkasādyāsu yoniṣu

Translation

Lorsque les hommes accomplissent le śrāddha avec des biens acquis par l’injustice, ce sont les Caṇḍālas—nés de matrices Puṣkasa et autres semblables—qui s’en trouvent rassasiés, et non les ancêtres visés par l’offrande.

Word by Word

• अन्यायोपार्जितैः: by unjustly acquired
• अन्यायोपार्जितैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्याय-उपार्जित (प्रातिपदिक; उपार्जित = √अर्ज् (धातु) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (instrumental plural)

• द्रव्यैः: with/through wealth (substances)
• द्रव्यैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकं सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• क्रियते: is performed
• क्रियते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• नरैः: by men
• नरैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/कर्तृ-करण), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्ता-कारकः

• तृप्यन्ति: are satisfied
• तृप्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तदर्थे (thereby)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चण्डालाः: Caṇḍālas
• चण्डालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• पुष्कस-आद्यasu: in (wombs) beginning with Puṣkasa etc.
• पुष्कस-आद्यasu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुष्कस-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन; ‘आदि’समासान्त (etc.) विशेषणम्

• योनिषु: in wombs/births
• योनिषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha scene where offerings made from tainted coins transform into dark vapors drifting away from the ancestral path; shadowy outcaste-figures (symbolic, not caricatured) receive the diverted essence, while the pitṛs remain unsatisfied in the background, hands unfilled—conveying ritual misdirection.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Caṇḍāla
• Puṣkasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Offerings made from injustice miss their intended spiritual recipient; adharma diverts the fruit of the rite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra; the māhātmya teaches how to perform śrāddha there with proper purity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not perform śrāddha with unjustly acquired resources; it fails to satisfy the intended pitṛs.