Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

तत्र श्राद्धं नरः कृत्वा पिंडान्कूपे परिक्षिपेत् । एकविंशकुलोपेतः श्राद्धकृद्रुद्रलोकभाक्

Transliteration

tatra śrāddhaṃ naraḥ kṛtvā piṃḍānkūpe parikṣipet | ekaviṃśakulopetaḥ śrāddhakṛdrudralokabhāk

Translation

അവിടെ ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തി പിണ്ഡങ്ങൾ ആ കൂപത്തിൽ അർപ്പിക്കണം. അങ്ങനെ ശ്രാദ്ധം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ തന്റെ വംശത്തിലെ ഇരുപത്തൊന്ന് തലമുറകളോടുകൂടെ രുദ്രലോകത്തിന്റെ ഭാഗഭാക്കാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — कर्म

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — कर्ता

• कृत्वा: having performed
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — 'having done'

• पिण्डान्: rice-balls (offerings)
• पिण्डान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन — कर्म

• कूपे: in the well
• कूपे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — अधिकरण

• परिक्षिपेत्: should cast (in)
• परिक्षिपेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — 'should throw/cast'

• एकविंशकुलोपेतः: accompanied by twenty-one lineages
• एकविंशकुलोपेतः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति + कुल + उपेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — विशेषणम्; समासः: (एकविंशति-कुल) + उपेतः = 'endowed with twenty-one generations/families'

• श्राद्धकृत्: the performer of śrāddha
• श्राद्धकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध + कृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — कर्तृवाचक; समासः: श्राद्धं करोति इति (उपपद-तत्पुरुष)

• रुद्रलोकभाक्: partaker of Rudra’s world
• रुद्रलोकभाक्: Karta (Result-qualifier/फल-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुद्रलोक + भाज् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — विशेषणम्; कृदन्तः: भाज् धातोः 'भाक्' (possessing/partaking); समासः: रुद्रस्य लोकः + भाक्

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛ-kūpa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder with darbha grass performs śrāddha beside a well; piṇḍas on leaf plates are respectfully lifted and released into the water; faint ancestral figures receive offerings; Mahālaya-liṅga stands behind, lamps flickering.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛ-kūpa
• Śrāddha
• Piṇḍa
• Rudra-loka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pitṛ-dharma performed at a sanctified Kāśī site uplifts not only the doer but the entire ancestral line.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Pitṛ-kūpa (ancestor-well) situated before Mahālaya Liṅga in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha there and place/cast the piṇḍa-offerings into the Pitṛ-kūpa.