Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

उद्धृताः पितरस्तैस्तु यावच्चंद्रार्क्कमेदिनि । द्वापरे च युगे भूत्वा व्यासेनोक्तं महात्मना

Transliteration

uddhṛtāḥ pitarastaistu yāvaccaṃdrārkkamedini | dvāpare ca yuge bhūtvā vyāsenoktaṃ mahātmanā

Translation

അവരാൽ അവരുടെ പിതൃകൾ ചന്ദ്രസൂര്യന്മാർ ഭൂമിയിൽ നിലനിൽക്കുന്നത്രകാലം ഉദ്ധരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. ദ്വാപരയുഗത്തിൽ പ്രത്യക്ഷനായ മഹാത്മാവ് വ്യാസൻ ഇതു പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• उद्धृताः: lifted up, rescued
• उद्धृताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√हृ (धातु) > उद्धृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; passive past participle

• पितरः: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तैः: by them
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; instrumental pronoun

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ

• यावत्: as long as, until
• यावत्: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/परिमाणवाचक (until/as long as)

• चन्द्र: moon
• चन्द्र: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• अर्क: sun
• अर्क: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• मेदिनि: on the earth (as long as moon and sun endure)
• मेदिनि: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; चन्द्र+अर्क (द्वन्द्व) + मेदिनी (सप्तमी) = चन्द्रार्कमेदिनि (locative)

• द्वापरे: in the Dvāpara (age)
• द्वापरे: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वापर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (युगे इति सह)

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

• युगे: in the age
• युगे: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु) > भूत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• व्यासेन: by Vyāsa
• व्यासेन: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• उक्तम्: said, spoken
• उक्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु) > उक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; passive past participle

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (with Dharma-vāpī implied in immediate context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, serene and radiant, speaks of pitṛ-upliftment enduring as long as sun and moon; behind him a sacred grove and a small waterbody hinting at Dharma-vāpī; subtle sun-moon disc motifs in the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Vyāsa
• Dvāpara-yuga
• Sun
• Moon

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Acts tied to tīrtha and śrāddha can generate long-lasting benefit for one’s ancestors, grounded in revered Purāṇic authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya (context), as the locus whose practices yield enduring pitṛ-benefit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ancestral benefit is linked to the prior-mentioned recitation/śrāddha context, validated here by Vyāsa’s statement.