Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

पितॄणां तेन ते नित्यमासनेऽभ्युक्षणं कृतम् । तस्माद्यतस्व पुत्रार्थं यदीच्छसि परां गतिम्

Transliteration

pitṝṇāṃ tena te nityamāsane'bhyukṣaṇaṃ kṛtam | tasmādyatasva putrārthaṃ yadīcchasi parāṃ gatim

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് പിതൃഗണങ്ങളുടെ നിമിത്തം നിന്റെ ആസനത്തിൽ നിത്യം അഭ്യുക്ഷണം (ജലപ്രോക്ഷണം) ചെയ്യപ്പെടുന്നു; അതിനാൽ പരമഗതി ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ പുത്രാർത്ഥം പരിശ്രമിക്കൂ.

Word by Word

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तेन: by that; therefore
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन (ते = to you)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Adverbial (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयुक्तम्; नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणम् (always)

• आसने: on the seat
• आसने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• अभ्युक्षणम्: sprinkling; aspersion (of water)
• अभ्युक्षणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhi+ukṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √ukṣ 'to sprinkle')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कृतम्: has been done
• कृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (done); वाक्ये विधेयभावेन (predicate)

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmāt (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: हेतौ/अपादाने अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (therefore/from that)

• यतस्व: strive; make effort
• यतस्व: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yat (यत् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• पुत्रार्थम्: for the sake of a son
• पुत्रार्थम्: Karma (Goal/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra + artha (प्रातिपदिक; पुत्रस्य अर्थः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (putrasya arthaḥ)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Condition (शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle: if)

• इच्छसि: you desire
• इच्छसि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (इष् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पराम्: supreme; highest
• पराम्: Visheshana (Adjective to 'gatim')
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• गतिम्: destination; liberation
• गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Indra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A morning ritual vignette: the king (or householder) sprinkles water around/onto his seat with a small vessel, kuśa in hand, facing east; a subtle ancestral presence is suggested behind, receiving the act.

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• King Daśaratha
• Pitṛs

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Resolving pitṛ-ṛṇa is essential for spiritual progress; striving to fulfill ancestral duty is presented as a path toward the ‘higher goal’.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter, but it does not name a particular site; it highlights dharma linked to purity and ancestral welfare.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily abhyukṣaṇa (sprinkling) of the āsana as a purificatory act connected with pitṛ concerns, and the injunction to endeavor for putra-artha.