Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अयं भाद्रपदे मासे पितॄणामनुपासनात् । ययौ वेतालतां विप्रो यस्त्वां जग्राह पापिनम्

Transliteration

ayaṃ bhādrapade māse pitṝṇāmanupāsanāt | yayau vetālatāṃ vipro yastvāṃ jagrāha pāpinam

Translation

Pada bulan Bhādrapada, kerana mengabaikan pemujaan kepada para leluhur (pitṛ), Brāhmaṇa yang telah menangkap engkau, wahai si pendosa, jatuh ke keadaan vetāla.

Word by Word

• ayam: this (man)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhādrapade: in Bhādrapada
• bhādrapade: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhādrapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक-अधिकरणम्

• māse: in the month
• māse: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक-अधिकरणम्

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• anupāsanāt: due to neglect of worship/attendance
• anupāsanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anu√ās (धातु) [उपासने] + ana (प्रत्यय) → anupāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ (ablative of cause)

• yayau: went/became
• yayau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) [गत्यर्थे]
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vetālatām: the state of being a vetāla (ghoul)
• vetālatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vetāla-tā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; गत्यर्थकर्म (object of 'went to state')

• vipraḥ: the brāhmaṇa
• vipraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• jagrāha: seized/took
• jagrāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (धातु) [ग्रहणे]
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• pāpinam: sinful
• pāpinam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मविशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: in Bhādrapada, a Brāhmaṇa who neglected ancestor worship is shown slipping into a vetāla-like condition—shadowy aura, disheveled hair—while a narrator points to the moral; nearby, offerings for pitṛs remain undone.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Vetāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglecting Pitṛ-upāsanā, especially in sacred times, is portrayed as karmically dangerous and degrading.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred geography; the verse itself stresses the sanctity of Bhādrapada/Mahālaya time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain regular ancestral worship and do not omit Mahālaya-related observances.