Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

यावद्भिः संस्पृशत्यङ्गैर्ब्राह्मणाञ्छ्रूद्रयाजकः । तावतां न भवेत्प्रेत्य दातुर्वा तस्य पैत्रिकम्

Transliteration

yāvadbhiḥ saṃspṛśatyaṅgairbrāhmaṇāñchrūdrayājakaḥ | tāvatāṃ na bhavetpretya dāturvā tasya paitrikam

Translation

Autant de brāhmaṇas que touchent les membres du prêtre qui célèbre des rites pour les śūdras, autant —après la mort— il n’y aura pas de bénéfice ancestral (pitṛ) pour le donateur (ou pour lui).

Word by Word

• yāvadbhiḥ: with as many (as)
• yāvadbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), बहुवचनम्; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

• saṃspṛśati: touches
• saṃspṛśati: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√spṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• aṅgaiḥ: with limbs
• aṅgaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• brāhmaṇān: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• śūdra-yājakaḥ: a priest who officiates for śūdras
• śūdra-yājakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + yājaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (शूद्रं याजयति इति/शूद्रस्य याजकः)

• tāvatām: of that many
• tāvatām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive), बहुवचनम्; परिमाणवाचकः

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation)

• bhavet: would be/should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• pretya: after death
• pretya: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√i (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive): ‘having died/after death’

• dātuḥ: of the donor
• dātuḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vā: or
• vā: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम् (disjunctive particle)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-शब्दः

• paitrikam: ancestral (rite/benefit)
• paitrikam: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paitrika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्; ‘पितृ-सम्बन्धि’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunakādayaḥ (typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha setting at Prabhāsa: a donor seated with kuśa grass and piṇḍas; an officiant whose touch is shown as ritually contaminating nearby brāhmaṇas; in the background, subtle departing Pitṛs turning away, indicating blocked ancestral benefit.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• brāhmaṇa
• pitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity and proper officiation are linked to pitṛ-benefit; dharma warns that compromised ritual associations can obstruct ancestral merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the māhātmya teaches careful performance of rites to secure both worldly and ancestral outcomes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A caution regarding ritual contact and officiants: association with a śūdrayājaka is said to negate paitṛka benefit proportionally.