Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

अग्निष्वात्ता बर्हिषद आज्यपाः सोमपाश्च ये । एकविंशतिः पितृगणा द्वारकायां वसंति ते

Transliteration

agniṣvāttā barhiṣada ājyapāḥ somapāśca ye | ekaviṃśatiḥ pitṛgaṇā dvārakāyāṃ vasaṃti te

Translation

अग्निष्वात्त, बर्हिषद, आज्यप आणि सोमप—असे पितृगणांचे एकवीसही वर्ग द्वारकेत वास करतात।

Word by Word

• अग्निष्वात्ताः: the Agniṣvātta (class of Pitṛs)
• अग्निष्वात्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्निष्वात्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—अग्नि+स्वात्त (तत्पुरुष)

• बर्हिषदः: the Barhiṣad (Pitṛs)
• बर्हिषदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बर्हिषद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• आज्यपाः: the Ājyapa (Pitṛs; ghee-drinkers)
• आज्यपाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आज्यप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—आज्य+प (तत्पुरुष)

• सोमपाः: the Somapā (Soma-drinkers)
• सोमपाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—सोम+प (तत्पुरुष)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• एकविंशतिः: twenty-one
• एकविंशतिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्या (numeral)

• पितृगणाः: groups of Pitṛs
• पितृगणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृगण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—पितृ+गण (तत्पुरुष)

• द्वारकायाम्: in Dvārakā
• द्वारकायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वारका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• वसन्ति: dwell
• वसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संकेत-सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On Dvārakā’s shore, a householder offers piṇḍas and tila-water; behind, subtle luminous pitṛ-forms (Agniṣvātta, Barhiṣad, Ājyapa, Somapa) appear as benevolent witnesses in the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Agniṣvātta Pitṛs
• Barhiṣad Pitṛs
• Ājyapa Pitṛs
• Somapā Pitṛs
• Pitṛs
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dvārakā is extolled as a uniquely potent sacred space for Pitṛ-related merit, as if the ancestral hosts are directly present there.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā is presented as a dwelling-place of the Pitṛ-gaṇas, making it exceptionally auspicious for ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies the suitability of śrāddha and Pitṛ-tarpaṇa at Dvārakā, though it does not detail a specific procedure.