Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

सर्पविप्रहतानां च दंष्ट्रिशृंगिसरीसृपैः । आत्मनस्त्यागिनां चैव श्राद्धमेषां न कारयेत्

Transliteration

sarpaviprahatānāṃ ca daṃṣṭriśṛṃgisarīsṛpaiḥ | ātmanastyāgināṃ caiva śrāddhameṣāṃ na kārayet

Translation

സർപ്പാഘാതത്തിൽ മരിച്ചവർക്കും, കടിക്കുന്നതോ കൊമ്പുള്ളതോ ആയ സരീസൃപങ്ങൾകൊണ്ട് കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടവർക്കും, ആത്മത്യാഗം ചെയ്തവർക്കും—ഇവർക്കായി ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തിക്കരുത്.

Word by Word

• sarpa-vipra-hatānām: of those killed by a snake or a Brahmin
• sarpa-vipra-hatānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + hata (कृदन्त; √han धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः — ‘सर्पेण/विप्रेण हताः’ (killed by a snake or a Brahmin)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• daṃṣṭri-śṛṃgi-sarīsṛpaiḥ: by fanged and horned reptiles
• daṃṣṭri-śṛṃgi-sarīsṛpaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃṣṭrin (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṃgin (प्रातिपदिक) + sarīsṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/समाहार-द्वन्द्ववत् समासः (descriptive grouping) — ‘दंष्ट्रिणः शृङ्गिणः (ये) सरीसृपाः’

• ātmanaḥ: of oneself
• ātmanaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• tyāginām: of self-abandoners (suicides)
• tyāginām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tyāgin (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘त्यागिन्’ = one who abandons (here: self-destroyer)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

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

• eṣām: of these (persons)
• eṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• kārayet: should not cause (it) to be performed
• kārayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) causative (णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative) — ‘कारयेत्’ = should cause to be done/should have performed

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A somber advisory scene: a priest gestures ‘do not’ over a śrāddha setup; in the background, symbolic motifs—serpent, horned/biting creature silhouettes, and a darkened figure representing self-destruction—appear as cautionary emblems; the Prabhāsa shore/temple silhouette anchors the setting.

Characters & Entities

• Sarpa
• Pitṛ
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ritual law distinguishes categories of death and prescribes/withholds rites accordingly, emphasizing moral-ritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger discourse belongs to Prabhāsa-kṣetra; this verse is primarily a śrāddha rule rather than a site eulogy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition against arranging śrāddha for certain categories: deaths by serpents/creeping biting or horned creatures, and self-destruction.