Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततश्चास्तं गते भानौ निराशा दुःखसंयुताः । निःश्वस्य सुचिरं यांति गर्हयंति स्ववंशजम्

Transliteration

tataścāstaṃ gate bhānau nirāśā duḥkhasaṃyutāḥ | niḥśvasya suciraṃ yāṃti garhayaṃti svavaṃśajam

Translation

പിന്നെ സൂര്യൻ അസ്തമിച്ചാൽ അവർ നിരാശയും ദുഃഖവും സഹിതം പുറപ്പെടുന്നു; ദീർഘനിശ്വാസം വിട്ട് ദൂരേ പോയി തങ്ങളുടെ തന്നെ വംശജനെയെ കുറ്റപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb: "thereupon/then"

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात) = conjunction "and"

• astaṃ: setting (to the west), sunset-state
• astaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन = Neuter, Accusative, Singular; गमनक्रियायाः लक्ष्यस्थानम्

• gate: having gone (set)
• gate: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; भानौ इति विशेषणम् = PPP in Locative Singular agreeing with "bhānau"

• bhānau: in the sun (when the sun)
• bhānau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन = Masculine, Locative, Singular

• nirāśāḥ: hopeless, without expectation
• nirāśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirāśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन = Feminine, Nominative, Plural; (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-बहुवचनरूपेण जनसमूहस्य विशेषणम्)

• duḥkha-saṃyutāḥ: joined with sorrow, sorrowful
• duḥkha-saṃyutāḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (सम्+युज् धातु, क्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दुःखेन संयुताः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Tatpurusha compound; Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• niḥśvasya: having sighed
• niḥśvasya: Kriya (Preceding action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niḥ-śvas (निः+श्वस् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = absolutive: "having sighed"

• suciram: for a long time
• suciram: Kala-adhikarana (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sucira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत् (नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण) = adverbial accusative: "for a long time"

• yānti: they go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन = Present Indicative, 3rd person plural

• garhayaṃti: they censure, blame
• garhayaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: garh (गर्ह् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन = Present Indicative, 3rd person plural

• sva-vaṃśajam: their own descendant
• sva-vaṃśajam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + vaṃśaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (स्वस्य वंशजः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन = Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Sun has set; the doorway is dark. Ethereal Pitṛs turn away, shoulders bowed, exhaling long sighs, casting a reproachful glance back toward the negligent household.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (implied)
• Bhānu (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of ancestral duty is framed as a serious moral failure that brings sorrow to the Pitṛs and blame upon the descendant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named; the verse supports the broader māhātmya atmosphere by stressing the gravity of proper rites within sacred time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Complete Śrāddha before sunset on amāvāsyā; otherwise the Pitṛs are said to depart dissatisfied.