Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

गयाश्राद्धान्न सन्देहः सत्यमेतन्मयोदितम् । यदि श्राद्धकृते तत्र नायास्यथ द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

gayāśrāddhānna sandehaḥ satyametanmayoditam | yadi śrāddhakṛte tatra nāyāsyatha dvijottamāḥ

Translation

ഗയാ-ശ്രാദ്ധത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് യാതൊരു സംശയവും ഇല്ല; ഞാൻ പറയുന്നത് സത്യമാണ്. നിങ്ങൾ, ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ, ശ്രാദ്ധം ചെയ്യാൻ അവിടെ പോകാതിരുന്നാൽ…

Word by Word

• gayā-śrāddhāt: from/with regard to the Gayā-śrāddha
• gayā-śrāddhāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गयायां श्राद्धम् → गयाश्राद्धम्; तस्मात्)

• na: no/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• sandehaḥ: doubt
• sandehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdeha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• satyam: truth
• satyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• uditam: said/spoken
• uditam: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: udita (कृदन्त; spoken/said)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional conjunction: if)

• śrāddha-kṛte: for the śrāddha (purpose)
• śrāddha-kṛte: Adhikarana (Purpose-context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (श्राद्धस्य कृते = for the śrāddha)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय; ‘न + आयास्यथ’ इति संधौ

• āyāsyatha: you will come
• āyāsyatha: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (उत्तमाः द्विजाः)

Speaker

Indra (Śakra/Pākaśāsana), inferred from immediate context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kūpyā (Gayā-śrāddha locus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijoत्तमāḥ (best of brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn declaration to brāhmaṇa elders: ‘No doubt about Gayā-śrāddha; my statement is true,’ followed by an urging not to forgo going there for śrāddha.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• śrāddha
• dvijottama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text asserts doctrinal certainty: Gayā-śrāddha is efficacious and should not be doubted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is explicitly glorified as a preeminent site for ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive (continued into the next verse) urging the Brahmins to go to Gayā to perform śrāddha.