Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

क्रीडन्ति पितृलोकस्था यावदाभूतसम्प्लवम् । ये कर्मस्था विकर्मस्था ये जाताः प्रेतकल्मषाः

Transliteration

krīḍanti pitṛlokasthā yāvadābhūtasamplavam | ye karmasthā vikarmasthā ye jātāḥ pretakalmaṣāḥ

Translation

പിതൃലോകത്തിൽ വസിക്കുന്നവർ മഹാപ്രളയം വരെയും ആനന്ദത്തോടെ ക്രീഡിക്കുന്നു; കൂടാതെ കർമ്മബന്ധത്തിലോ വികർമ്മത്തിലോ ഉള്ളവർ—പ്രേതകല്മഷത്തോടെ ജനിച്ചവർ—

Word by Word

• क्रीडन्ति: play/sport
• क्रीडन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रीड् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• पितृलोकस्थाः: those dwelling in the world of the Pitṛs
• पितृलोकस्थाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृलोक (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; पितृलोके स्थाः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष)

• यावत्: until
• यावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal limit/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधिवाचक (limit marker: 'until/as long as')

• आभूतसम्प्लवम्: up to the cosmic dissolution
• आभूतसम्प्लवम्: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ + भूत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त) + सम्प्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; आ-उपसर्गार्थे अव्ययीभावः: ‘आभूत’ = ‘up to the beings/creation’; सम्प्लवम् = dissolution/flood; कालावधि-प्रयोगः

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• कर्मस्थाः: engaged in (proper) acts
• कर्मस्थाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मणि/कर्मसु स्थाः (तत्पुरुष)

• विकर्मस्थाः: engaged in forbidden acts
• विकर्मस्थाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विकर्मणि/विकर्मसु स्थाः (तत्पुरुष)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्धसूचक

• जाताः: born/become
• जाताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) प्रयुक्तः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• प्रेतकल्मषाः: impure as pretas (ghost-like sinners)
• प्रेतकल्मषाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; प्रेताः कल्मषाः इव/प्रेतत्वेन कल्मषयुक्ताः (कर्मधारय: ‘ghostly/pretalike sinners’)

Speaker

Tīrtha-māhātmya narrator (contextual; likely a sage addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha śrāddha/tarpaṇa (contextual)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Celestial pitṛ-loka: ancestors rejoicing in a luminous realm; below, shadowed figures marked by preta-kalmaṣa being cleansed by streams of offered water and light from the ritual.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛloka
• Pralaya (ābhūtasamplava)
• Preta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha and ancestral rites are portrayed as having reach across varied post-death states, from Pitṛloka to preta-affliction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Revā Khaṇḍa Gayāśiras tīrtha discourse, though it mainly describes afterlife states.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No fresh procedure is stated here; it sets up the claim that even those in troubled states can be helped.