Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तत्र यः कुरुते श्राद्धं ग्रहे सूर्यस्य भूमिप । आकल्पं पितरस्तस्य तृप्तिं यांति सुतर्पिताः

Transliteration

tatra yaḥ kurute śrāddhaṃ grahe sūryasya bhūmipa | ākalpaṃ pitarastasya tṛptiṃ yāṃti sutarpitāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ഭൂമിപ, ആരെങ്കിലും അവിടെ സൂര്യന്റെ ക്ഷേത്രം/ധാമത്തിൽ ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തുകയാണെങ്കിൽ, അവന്റെ പിതൃകൾ സുതർപ്പിതരായി കല്പാന്തം വരെ തൃപ്തരായിരിക്കും.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘तत्र’ = there

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• kurute: does; performs
• kurute: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śrāddham: Śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• grahe: in the house
• grahe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Locative singular)

• sūryasya: of the Sun
• sūryasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• bhūmipa: O king
• bhūmipa: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘भूमि’ + ‘प’ (protector); पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• ākalpam: for a whole kalpa; until kalpa’s end
• ākalpam: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-kalpa (अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — ‘आकल्पम्’ = until the end of the kalpa; for a kalpa

• pitaraḥ: the ancestors (fathers)
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• tṛptim: satisfaction
• tṛptim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yānti: attain; go to
• yānti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• su-tarpitāḥ: well satisfied
• su-tarpitāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग) + tṛp (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय) ‘सुतर्पित’ = well-satiated; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (qualifying pitaraḥ)

Speaker

Pulastya (implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sūrya-gṛha (Surya shrine at Arbuda)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhūmipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Surya temple, a devotee performs śrāddha: offering piṇḍas and water-libations, with brāhmaṇas seated for bhojana; behind, a radiant Surya icon or chariot motif; ancestors symbolically receiving satisfaction.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (Sun-god)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha performed at a sanctified place, especially linked with Sūrya, is praised as granting enduring contentment to the ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kanakhala-tīrtha, specifically the Sūrya-gṛha (abode/temple of Sūrya) associated with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing śrāddha at the Sūrya-abode at this tīrtha for the benefit of the Pitṛs.