Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 101

Devanagari script

वैश्वदेवे न पित्र्यार्थं न पित्र्यं वैश्वदेविके । कृत्वा श्राद्धं महादेवि ब्राह्मणांश्च विसर्ज्य च

Transliteration

vaiśvadeve na pitryārthaṃ na pitryaṃ vaiśvadevike | kṛtvā śrāddhaṃ mahādevi brāhmaṇāṃśca visarjya ca

Translation

വൈശ്വദേവ കർമത്തിൽ പിതൃാർത്ഥ കർമം ചെയ്യരുത്; പിതൃശ്രാദ്ധത്തിൽ വൈശ്വദേവഭാഗം ചേർക്കുകയും അരുത്. ഹേ മഹാദേവീ, ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തി ബ്രാഹ്മണരെ ആദരത്തോടെ വിടയാക്കുക।

Word by Word

• vaiśvadeve: in the vaiśvadeva (rite)
• vaiśvadeve: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśvadeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• pitryārtham: (anything) for the ancestors' sake
• pitryārtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; प्रयोजनवाचक

• na: nor/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• pitryam: ancestral (offering)
• pitryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन; पितृसम्बन्धि (ancestral)

• vaiśvadevike: in the vaiśvadevika (rite/context)
• vaiśvadevike: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśvadevika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगानुसार); सप्तमी; एकवचन; (वैश्वदेविक-कर्मणि/काले)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); (having done)

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

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महती देवī); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (vocative); एकवचन

• brāhmaṇān: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• visarjya: having dismissed
• visarjya: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√sṛj (सृज् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive); 'वि+सृज्'—(having dismissed/sent away)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

Speaker

Skanda (deduced); addressing Mahādevī/Devī in this passage

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual space with two clearly separated offering areas: one for Vaiśvadeva and one for pitṛ-śrāddha; after completion, brāhmaṇas are offered water and dakṣiṇā and are ceremonially dismissed; the hostess (Mahādevī addressed) listens attentively.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśvadeva
• Pitṛs
• Śrāddha
• Mahādevī
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity includes procedural clarity—each rite has its own intention and should not be mixed indiscriminately.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, framing proper dharma for pilgrims at Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not merge Pitṛ-offerings into Vaiśvadeva or vice versa; after completing śrāddha, dismiss the brāhmaṇas properly.