Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

पिंडनिर्वापणं तत्र यः करोति समाहितः । तस्य पुत्रत्वमायाति पितरस्तत्प्रसादतः

Transliteration

piṃḍanirvāpaṇaṃ tatra yaḥ karoti samāhitaḥ | tasya putratvamāyāti pitarastatprasādataḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ഏകാഗ്രചിത്തത്തോടെ പിണ്ഡനിർവാപണം (പിതൃതർപ്പണം) ചെയ്യുന്നവന് പിതൃപ്രസാദത്താൽ പുത്രത്വം—സന്താനലാഭം—ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• पिण्डनिर्वापणम्: piṇḍa-offering rite
• पिण्डनिर्वापणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṇḍa + nirvāpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘पिण्डस्य निर्वापणम्’ (offering/placing of piṇḍa oblations)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — there

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

• करोति: does; performs
• करोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• समाहितः: attentive; composed
• समाहितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā√dhā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘समाहित’ (collected, attentive)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — ‘of him’

• पुत्रत्वम्: sonship; attainment of a son
• पुत्रत्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra + tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — भाववाचक (state of sonship)

• आयाति: comes about; is obtained
• आयाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘comes/ensues’

• पितरः: the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘the Pitṛs/ancestors’

• तत्: of that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — ‘of that’ (qualifying प्रसादतः)

• प्रसादतः: by grace; due to favor
• प्रसादतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त) — ‘प्रसादतः’ = प्रसादेन/कृपया (by grace)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pārtheśvara-tīrtha (pitṛ-prasāda sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yayāti

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a riverbank/pond-edge within the kṣetra, a devotee sits facing south, offering rice-balls (piṇḍas) with kuśa grass and water libations; subtle ancestral presence is suggested as benevolent, unseen witnesses.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Pārtheśvara (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honouring the ancestors through prescribed rites is integral to dharma and is depicted as supporting familial continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Pārtheśvara locale where ancestral piṇḍa offerings are said to be especially fruitful.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform piṇḍa-nirvāpaṇa (ancestral piṇḍa offering) there with a concentrated, reverent mind.