Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

अमावास्यासु सर्वासु मृते पितरि पार्वणम् । नभस्यापरपक्षस्य मध्ये चैतदुदाहृतम्

Transliteration

amāvāsyāsu sarvāsu mṛte pitari pārvaṇam | nabhasyāparapakṣasya madhye caitadudāhṛtam

Translation

പിതാവ് പരലോകഗതനായാൽ ഓരോ അമാവാസ്യയിലും പാർവണ-ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തണം; നഭസ്യ (ഭാദ്രപദ) മാസത്തിലെ കൃഷ്ണപക്ഷത്തിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യത്തിലും ഇതേ വിധി പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• अमावास्यासु: on new-moon days
• अमावास्यासु: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• सर्वासु: all
• सर्वासु: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; अमावास्यासु इति विशेषण

• मृते: when (he is) dead
• मृते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त; √मृ (धातु); क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• पितरि: when the father (is dead)
• पितरि: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• पार्वणम्: pārvaṇa rite
• पार्वणम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्वण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नभस्य: of Nabhas (Bhādrapada month)
• नभस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नभस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; मासवाचक (name of month: Nabhas/Bhādrapada)

• अपरपक्षस्य: of the latter (waning) fortnight
• अपरपक्षस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपर-पक्ष (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: अपरः पक्षः (the latter/waning fortnight)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय/conjunction

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उदाहृतम्: is declared/stated
• उदाहृतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उदाहृत (कृदन्त; √हृ (धातु) + उद्-आ-; क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; कर्मणि-भावे ‘is stated/declared’

Speaker

Unknown (continuing narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lunar calendar motif: dark new-moon sky above a tīrtha; a householder and priest prepare Pārvaṇa-śrāddha with three piṇḍas, tila, and water; Bhādrapada month indicated by monsoon clouds and ripened fields.

Characters & Entities

• Amāvāsyā
• Nabhas (Bhādrapada)
• Pārvaṇa-śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral obligations (pitṛ-dharma) are time-sensitive; performing śrāddha at prescribed lunar times sustains lineage harmony and spiritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader section is within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya of the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, though this verse itself focuses on calendrical śrāddha timing rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pārvaṇa-śrāddha is prescribed on all Amāvāsyās for one whose father has died, and additionally in the mid-point of Bhādrapada’s dark fortnight.