Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 148

Devanagari script

अग्निहोत्रपरा विप्रास्त्रिकालं होमदायिनः । स्वर्गं ते तु गमिष्यंति एकविंशतिभिः कुलैः

Transliteration

agnihotraparā viprāstrikālaṃ homadāyinaḥ | svargaṃ te tu gamiṣyaṃti ekaviṃśatibhiḥ kulaiḥ

Translation

അഗ്നിഹോത്രത്തിൽ പരായണരായി ത്രികാലവും ഹോമം അർപ്പിക്കുന്ന ബ്രാഹ്മണർ, നിശ്ചയമായി ഇരുപത്തൊന്ന് തലമുറകളോടുകൂടെ സ്വർഗ്ഗം പ്രാപിക്കും।

Word by Word

• agnihotra-parāḥ: devoted to the Agnihotra
• agnihotra-parāḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agnihotra (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अग्निहोत्रे पराः = तत्पराः)

• viprāḥ: brāhmaṇas
• viprāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tri-kālam: thrice daily
• tri-kālam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tri (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणत्वेन ‘at three times’

• homa-dāyinaḥ: performers/givers of homa offerings
• homa-dāyinaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: homa (प्रातिपदिक) + dāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (होमं ददति/कुर्वन्ति इति)

• svargam: heaven
• svargam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• gamiṣyanti: will go
• gamiṣyanti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम्, धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• eka-viṃśatibhiḥ: with twenty-one
• eka-viṃśatibhiḥ: Sahacarya (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (संख्या) + viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (viṃśati-शब्दः), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—द्विगुः (एकविंशतिः = 21)

• kulaiḥ: families/lineages
• kulaiḥ: Sahacarya (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

Gāyatrī (personified Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A line of agnihotrin brāhmaṇas at Prabhāsa tending three daily offerings: dawn, noon, dusk; flames rise from a śrauta altar as ancestors appear subtly in the background, signifying twenty-one generations uplifted.

Characters & Entities

• Agnihotra
• Homa
• Svarga
• Vipra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady daily sacrifice (Agnihotra) supports both personal elevation and the welfare of one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, within whose Māhātmya these fire-ritual merits are proclaimed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Agnihotra and tri-kāla homa (offerings at three daily times).