Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

पितृक्षेत्रे गयायां च श्राद्धं यः कुरुते नरः । गयाश्राद्धसमं प्राहुः फलं तस्य महर्षयः

Transliteration

pitṛkṣetre gayāyāṃ ca śrāddhaṃ yaḥ kurute naraḥ | gayāśrāddhasamaṃ prāhuḥ phalaṃ tasya maharṣayaḥ

Translation

പിതൃക്ഷേത്രമായ ഗയയിൽ ആരെങ്കിലും ശ്രാദ്ധം ആചരിച്ചാൽ, മഹർഷിമാർ പറയുന്നു—അവന് ഗയാശ്രാദ്ധത്തിനുതുല്യമായ ഫലം ലഭിക്കും.

Word by Word

• pitṛ-kṣetre: in the ancestral sacred field
• pitṛ-kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘पितॄणां क्षेत्रम्’

• gayāyām: in Gayā
• gayāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

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

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• kurute: performs
• kurute: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (यः इत्यस्य विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• gayā-śrāddha-samam: equal to the Gayā-śrāddha
• gayā-śrāddha-samam: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण) (फलं इत्यस्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘गयायाः श्राद्धस्य समम्’

• prāhuḥ: they have declared/say
• prāhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āh (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः—प्र

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tasya: of him, his
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• maharṣayaḥ: great sages
• maharṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maharṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate narrative context of Arbuda Khaṇḍa dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayā (Pitṛkṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yayāti

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim performs śrāddha at Gayā: seated on kuśa grass, offering piṇḍas and water-libations to ancestors, with priests, sacred riverbank, and Viṣṇu-associated iconography in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Pitṛkṣetra
• Śrāddha
• Maharṣis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is a central duty of pitṛ-dharma, and certain places like Gayā are specially empowered for ancestral upliftment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā, revered as pitṛkṣetra—the preeminent place for ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha at Gayā for fruits declared by the seers to be of the highest order.