Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

आश्वयुक्कृष्णपक्षे तु चतुर्दश्यां विधानतः । यस्तत्र कुरुते श्राद्धं सोऽश्वमेधफलं लभेत्

Transliteration

āśvayukkṛṣṇapakṣe tu caturdaśyāṃ vidhānataḥ | yastatra kurute śrāddhaṃ so'śvamedhaphalaṃ labhet

Translation

ആശ്വയുജ മാസത്തിലെ കൃഷ്ണപക്ഷ ചതുര്ദശിയിൽ വിധിപൂർവം അവിടെ ശ്രാദ്ധം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ അശ്വമേധയാഗഫലം പ്രാപിക്കും।

Word by Word

• आश्वयुक्: in the month Āśvayuja
• आश्वयुक्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्वयुज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (आश्वयुजि इत्यर्थे; छान्दस/पौराणिक-रूपेण)

• कृष्णपक्षे: in the dark fortnight
• कृष्णपक्षे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कृष्णस्य पक्षः’)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• विधानतः: according to prescription
• विधानतः: Manner (रीति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): ‘according to rule/ordinance’

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः (relative pronoun)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• कुरुते: performs
• कुरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• अश्वमेधफलम्: the fruit of the Aśvamedha
• अश्वमेधफलम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अश्वमेधस्य फलम्’)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Result/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On Āśvayuja kṛṣṇa caturdaśī at Prabhāsa: a śrāddha setup with darbha, piṇḍas, water vessels; brāhmaṇas seated; the sea-coast/temple silhouette nearby; ancestral presence suggested subtly.

Characters & Entities

• Āśvayuja (month)
• Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa
• Caturdaśī
• Śrāddha
• Aśvamedha
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right time, right place, and right procedure make ancestral rites extraordinarily fruitful in a powerful tirtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (“there” refers to the previously praised sacred region and its shrine).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha at Prabhāsa Kṣetra on Āśvayuja month, kṛṣṇa-pakṣa caturdaśī, following proper vidhāna.