Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 116

Devanagari script

पिण्डनिर्वपणे वापि जपेदेनं समाहितः । पितरः क्षिप्रमायान्ति राक्षसाः प्रद्रवन्ति च

Transliteration

piṇḍanirvapaṇe vāpi japedenaṃ samāhitaḥ | pitaraḥ kṣipramāyānti rākṣasāḥ pradravanti ca

Translation

അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പിണ്ഡനിവേദന സമയത്തും സമാഹിതചിത്തത്തോടെ ഇത് ജപിക്കണം. പിതൃകൾ വേഗം വരും; രാക്ഷസർ ഓടിപ്പോകും.

Word by Word

• पिण्डनिर्वपणे: at the offering of piṇḍas (funeral balls)
• पिण्डनिर्वपणे: Adhikarana (Location/occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + निर्वपण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Alternative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Additive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (also/even)

• जपेत्: should recite
• जपेत्: Kriya (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• एनम्: this (him/it)
• एनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; एनद्-आदेश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (मन्त्रं) इत्यस्य निर्देशः

• समाहितः: collected/attentive
• समाहितः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle), कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• क्षिप्रम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• आयान्ति: come/arrive
• आयान्ति: Kriya (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• राक्षसाः: demons
• राक्षसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्रद्रवन्ति: run away/flee
• प्रद्रवन्ति: Kriya (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: द्रु (धातु) + प्र (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ritual-performing pilgrims/householders seeking śrāddha success

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the moment of placing piṇḍas, the performer chants; radiant ancestral figures approach, while shadowy rakṣasas recoil and scatter at the edge of the ritual space, stopped by an unseen mantra-barrier.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Rākṣasas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Concentration and correct mantra-use are said to make ancestral offerings effective and remove negative interferences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, as the ritual setting where piṇḍa offerings and mantra efficacy are praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Chant the mantra during piṇḍa-nirvapaṇa with a composed mind; it invites Pitṛs and repels rākṣasas.