Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

राजोवाच यदि यास्यामि भूयोऽहं गृहमस्मान्महावनात् । तत्करिष्यामि सर्वेषां गयाश्राद्धमसंशयम्

Transliteration

rājovāca yadi yāsyāmi bhūyo'haṃ gṛhamasmānmahāvanāt | tatkariṣyāmi sarveṣāṃ gayāśrāddhamasaṃśayam

Translation

രാജാവ് പറഞ്ഞു—ഞാൻ ഈ മഹാവനത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വീണ്ടും വീട്ടിലേക്കു മടങ്ങുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, സംശയമില്ലാതെ ഇവരൊക്കെയുടെയും ഗയാ-ശ്രാദ്ധം ഞാൻ നിർവ്വഹിക്കും.

Word by Word

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (राजन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच्-धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (यदि-अव्यय)
• Form: Śart-avyaya (conditional particle: if)

• yāsyāmi: I shall go
• yāsyāmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या-धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Periphrastic future), Uttama-puruṣa (1st), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• bhūyaḥ: again
• bhūyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyaḥ (भूयः-अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla/Pramāṇa-avyaya (adverb: again)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• gṛham: home
• gṛham: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (गृह-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; gati-karman (goal)

• asmāt: from this
• asmāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga/Napumsaka, Pañcamī (5th), Ekavacana; apādāna (from this)

• mahā-vanāt: from the great forest
• mahā-vanāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + vana (महा-प्रातिपदिक + वन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Pañcamī (5th), Ekavacana; samāsa: mahad vana (karmadhāraya)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; anaphoric

• kariṣyāmi: I shall do
• kariṣyāmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ-धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Periphrastic future), Uttama-puruṣa (1st), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठī)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga/Napumsaka, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Bahuvacana

• gayā-śrāddham: the Gayā-śrāddha rite
• gayā-śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā + śrāddha (गया-प्रातिपदिक + श्राद्ध-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; samāsa: gayāyāṃ śrāddham (saptamī-tatpuruṣa)

• asaṃśayam: without doubt
• asaṃśayam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a-saṃśaya (अ-सम्शय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa-avyaya (adverbial accusative: without doubt)

Speaker

The King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king vows: upon returning from the great forest to his home, he will certainly perform Gayā-śrāddha for all of them.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate kingship and dharma express themselves through responsibility toward the departed—undertaking śrāddha to relieve suffering and repay ancestral debt.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā, renowned in Purāṇic tradition for śrāddha and piṇḍadāna that benefit pitṛs and departed beings.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gayā-śrāddha—ancestral rites performed at Gayā, commonly including piṇḍadāna, tarpaṇa, and offerings following dharmaśāstric procedure.