Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

प्रेतत्वं सुस्थिरं तस्य दत्तैः श्राद्धशतैरपि । पुनरेव सुसर्पंतं दृष्ट्वा नीलं महावृषम्

Transliteration

pretatvaṃ susthiraṃ tasya dattaiḥ śrāddhaśatairapi | punareva susarpaṃtaṃ dṛṣṭvā nīlaṃ mahāvṛṣam

Translation

നൂറുകണക്കിന് ശ്രാദ്ധദാനങ്ങൾ ചെയ്തിട്ടും അവന്റെ പ്രേതത്വം ദൃഢമായിത്തന്നെ നിലനിന്നു. പിന്നെ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ആ മഹാനീല വൃഷഭത്തെ വീണ്ടും കണ്ടപ്പോൾ…

Word by Word

• प्रेतत्वम्: the state of being a preta
• प्रेतत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत-त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तद्धितान्त (त्व) भाववाचक; समासः—तत्पुरुष (प्रेतस्य भावः)

• सुस्थिरम्: very firm/unchanged
• सुस्थिरम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-स्थिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (प्रेतत्वम्)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• दत्तैः: by (things) given
• दत्तैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (भूतकर्मणि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘given (by means of)’

• श्राद्धशतैः: by hundreds of śrāddhas
• श्राद्धशतैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध-शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (श्राद्धानां शतम्)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपेक्षार्थ (even/also)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरावृत्तिवाचक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• सुसर्पन्तम्: crawling along
• सुसर्पन्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सु-सर्‍प् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमानकृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘crawling well’

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त), पूर्वकाल; ‘having seen’

• नीलम्: Nīla
• नीलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• महावृषम्: the great bull
• महावृषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-वृष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महान् वृषः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Tīrtha-māhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (implied)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grieving household or brāhmaṇas reflect that even after many śrāddhas the preta-state persists; in the background a great blue bull reappears, moving with uncanny purpose.

Characters & Entities

• preta
• śrāddha
• mahāvṛṣa (great bull)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual action (even many Śrāddhas) is powerful, yet karmic conditions may still persist until the proper divine or tīrtha-related resolution occurs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader episode belongs to the Tīrtha-māhātmya stream connected with Reva (Narmadā) and the Śālagrāma sacred context, though this single verse does not name the site explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha (ancestral rites/offerings), here described in large number (hundreds).