Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

उद्धृतेष्यथ पिंडेषु यावान्नकणिका भुवि । ताभिराप्यायनं तेषां ये च पातालमागताः

Transliteration

uddhṛteṣyatha piṃḍeṣu yāvānnakaṇikā bhuvi | tābhirāpyāyanaṃ teṣāṃ ye ca pātālamāgatāḥ

Translation

പിണ്ഡങ്ങൾ എടുത്തശേഷം ഭൂമിയിൽ ശേഷിക്കുന്ന അന്നത്തിന്റെ സൂക്ഷ്മകണങ്ങളാൽ പാതാളത്തിലേക്കു പോയ പിതൃകൾക്ക് പോഷണം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• उद्धृतेषु: when/among (the) lifted up (balls)
• उद्धृतेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकालिक-कृदन्तः ‘उद्धृत’; पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; ‘पिण्डेषु’ इति विशेषणम्

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्ययम् (then/now)

• पिण्डेषु: in/among the rice-balls (piṇḍas)
• पिण्डेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• यावान्न-कणिका: a grain/particle of food (yāvānna)
• यावान्न-कणिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यावान्न + कणिका (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (यावान्नस्य कणिका = a particle of yāvānna/food)

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक: पृथ्वी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ताभिः: by those (particles)
• ताभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• आप्यायनम्: nourishment, satiation
• आप्यायनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ + प्यै (धातु) + ल्युट् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

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

• पातालम्: the netherworld (Pātāla)
• पातालम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• आगताः: having gone/attained
• आगताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकालिक-कृदन्तः, पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

Speaker

Unspecified (continuation of śrāddha-offering phala exposition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmakūpa (contextual)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Piṇḍas are lifted from the offering spot; tiny grains remain on the earth, shown as luminous specks traveling downward to Pātāla where shadowed ancestors receive nourishment.

Characters & Entities

• Piṇḍa
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ritual logic portrays śrāddha as universally reaching—benefiting ancestors across all cosmic levels.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate passage centers on Dharmakūpa/Dharmakṣetra within Dharmāraṇya, where śrāddha is especially potent.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

During piṇḍa offerings, even residual food particles on the ground are said to nourish ancestors who have reached Pātāla.