Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तावद्भ्रमंति संसारे पितरः पिंडतत्पराः । यावत्कुले भक्तियुतः स्तो नैव प्रजायते

Transliteration

tāvadbhramaṃti saṃsāre pitaraḥ piṃḍatatparāḥ | yāvatkule bhaktiyutaḥ sto naiva prajāyate

Translation

ആ കുലത്തിൽ ഭക്തിയുള്ള ഭക്തൻ ജനിക്കാത്തതുവരെ, പിണ്ഡാർപ്പണത്തിൽ മാത്രം തൽപരരായ പിതൃകൾ സംസാരത്തിൽ അലഞ്ഞുതിരിയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long (as)
• तावत्: Kala/Avadhi (Temporal limit/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/परिमाण-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययम्; परिमाण/अवधि-अर्थे (so long/that much)

• भ्रमन्ति: wander, roam
• भ्रमन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• संसारे: in the world/cycle of existence
• संसारे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्

• पितरः: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• पिण्ड-तत्पराः: intent on the funeral offering (piṇḍa)
• पिण्ड-तत्पराः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + तत्पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (determinative: ‘intent on piṇḍa’); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Avadhi (Limit marker/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: अव्ययम्; यावत्-तावत्-सम्बन्धे (as long as)

• कुले: in the family/lineage
• कुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• भक्ति-युतः: endowed with devotion
• भक्ति-युतः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + युत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (endowed with devotion); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः (negation particle)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः (emphatic particle: indeed/just)

• प्रजायते: is born, arises
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), आत्मनेपदम्; प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Unknown (Tīrthamāhātmya context; internal narrator not provided in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a riverside or seashore ghat, a householder offers piṇḍas; behind, translucent ancestral figures appear restless. A child/devotee in the family chants Hari-nāma, and the ancestors begin to rise peacefully, indicating uplift through bhakti.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Piṇḍa (funerary offering)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual support to ancestors is limited; the birth of a true bhakta in a lineage is portrayed as a decisive uplift for the family and pitṛs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it addresses pitṛ-benefit through bhakti within a tīrthamāhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-offering (a Śrāddha-related act) is referenced, but the verse emphasizes bhakti as the deeper salvific factor.