Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

क्षुत्पिपासार्दिता ये च त ऊचुर्दैन्यमाश्रिताः । स्तुत्वाऽथ सुस्तवैर्दिव्यैः पितृसूक्तैश्च पार्थिव

Transliteration

kṣutpipāsārditā ye ca ta ūcurdainyamāśritāḥ | stutvā'tha sustavairdivyaiḥ pitṛsūktaiśca pārthiva

Translation

ഹേ പാർഥിവ, ക്ഷുധയും ദാഹവും കൊണ്ട് പീഡിതരായവർ ദീനഭാവത്തോടെ സംസാരിച്ചു. പിന്നെ ദിവ്യമായ ഉത്തമസ്തവങ്ങളാലും പിതൃസൂക്തങ്ങളാലും സ്തുതിച്ച് അവർ അപേക്ഷിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• क्षुत्पिपासार्दिताः: afflicted by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्पिपासार्दिताः: Visheshana (to ये/त)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् + पिपासा + अर्दित (कृदन्त; √अर्द्/अर्दय् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (क्षुत्-पिपासा), ततः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘अर्दित’ (afflicted), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (to ये)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject of ऊचुः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject of ऊचुः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तदनुयोगी (correlative)

• ऊचुः: said
• ऊचुः: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• दैन्यम्: wretchedness
• दैन्यम्: Karma (Object with आश्रिताः—‘having resorted to’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आश्रिताः: having taken refuge in
• आश्रिताः: Karta (Predicate adjective of ते)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आश्रित (कृदन्त; आ-√श्रि (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (‘having resorted to’), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (to ते)

• स्तुत्वा: having praised
• स्तुत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्तु (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकाल

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (then)

• सुस्तवैः: with excellent hymns
• सुस्तवैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + स्तव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘सु-स्तव’ = good hymns), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• दिव्यैः: divine
• दिव्यैः: Visheshana (to सुस्तवैः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (to सुस्तवैः)

• पितृसूक्तैः: with Pitṛ-hymns
• पितृसूक्तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + सूक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पितॄणां सूक्तानि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सूक्त), तृतीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• पार्थिव: O king
• पार्थिव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narrator addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of distressed beings, thin and parched, approach with folded hands; they chant pitṛ-sūktas as a radiant ancestral assembly listens, the air filled with sacred sound.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Relief begins with humility and reverent praise—especially honoring the Pitṛs through proper stuti and mantra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya (sacred-site glorification) unit, but the exact tīrtha name is not stated in this shloka alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pitṛ-sūkta recitation (ancestral hymns) and devotional praise are implied as the devotional act preceding the request.