Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा नरो भक्त्या यः संतर्पयते पितॄन् । प्रेतत्वात्पितरो मुक्ता भवन्ति श्राद्धदायिनः

Transliteration

tatra snātvā naro bhaktyā yaḥ saṃtarpayate pitṝn | pretatvātpitaro muktā bhavanti śrāddhadāyinaḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ഭക്തിയോടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് പിതൃകൾക്ക് തർപ്പണം ചെയ്ത് തൃപ്തിപ്പെടുത്തുന്നവന്റെ പിതാക്കന്മാർ പ്രേതാവസ്ഥയിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതരായി ശ്രാദ്ധം സ്വീകരിക്കാൻ യോഗ്യരാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण/adverb of place)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘स्नात्वा’ = स्ना + त्वा; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having bathed)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject of relative clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• संतर्पयते: satiates, offers satisfaction to
• संतर्पयते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन

• प्रेतत्वात्: from the state of being a preta
• प्रेतत्वात्: Apadana (Ablative source/separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेतत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘प्रेतस्य भावः’ = state of being a preta)

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

• मुक्ताः: freed, released
• मुक्ताः: Karta-predicative (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; मुच् धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• भवन्ति: become
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• श्राद्धदायिनः: performers/givers of śrāddha
• श्राद्धदायिनः: Karta-predicative (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्राद्ध + दायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (‘श्राद्धं ददाति’ = giver/performer of śrāddha)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit from v.16)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa pitṛ-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee, freshly bathed, stands at the water’s edge offering tarpaṇa with cupped hands; subtle ancestral figures rise from a shadowy preta-state into a calmer, luminous form, indicating liberation and renewed eligibility for śrāddha.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Preta
• Śrāddha
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional rites for ancestors, performed at a powerful tīrtha, are said to uplift the departed and restore dharmic continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, in the context of Preta-related tīrtha merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) followed by pitṛ-tarpaṇa (satisfying offerings) connected to śrāddha.