Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

पितरस्तस्य तृप्यंति यावदाभूतसंप्लवम् । तत्रेष्टा ब्रह्मणा पूर्वमसंख्याता मखोत्तमाः

Transliteration

pitarastasya tṛpyaṃti yāvadābhūtasaṃplavam | tatreṣṭā brahmaṇā pūrvamasaṃkhyātā makhottamāḥ

Translation

Para leluhurnya berpuas hati hingga ke saat pralaya, peleraian kosmos. Dahulu kala, di tempat itu Brahmā telah melaksanakan korban suci yang unggul, tidak terbilang banyaknya.

Word by Word

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

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तृप्यन्ति: are satisfied
• तृप्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; √तृप्—'to be satisfied'

• यावत्: until
• यावत्: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal limit/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधिपर्यन्त (until/as long as)

• आभूतसंप्लवम्: up to the dissolution of beings (cosmic deluge)
• आभूतसंप्लवम्: Kala-adhikarana (Extent of time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ-भूत-संप्लव (प्रातिपदिक; आ + भूत + संप्लव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (आ + भूतसंप्लवम्) = 'up to the cosmic dissolution' (accusative of extent)

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

• इष्टाः: performed
• इष्टाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यज् (धातु) → इष्ट (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'worshipped/performed' (agreeing with मखोत्तमाः)

• ब्रह्मणा: by Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणा: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वम् (अव्यय/नपुंसक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly/before)

• असंख्याताः: countless
• असंख्याताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- संख्यात (प्रातिपदिक; नञ् + संख्यात)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying मखोत्तमाः)

• मखोत्तमाः: excellent sacrifices
• मखोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मख-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; मख + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (उत्तमाः मखाः)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Daśāśvamedha-pradeśa within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous coastal sacred field at Prabhāsa: Brahmā presides over a vast yajña-vedi with multiple fires; nearby pilgrims offer water-libations to pitṛs, while the atmosphere suggests ‘until pralaya’ endurance.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Brahmā
• Makha (yajña)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rites done at a supremely sanctified place yield enduring results, extending even to ancestral satisfaction across vast cosmic time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa sacred tract associated with Aśvamedha/Daśāśvamedha, presented as a historic yajña-ground of Brahmā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pitṛ-related offerings/rites at the site; the verse also recalls Brahmā’s performance of many yajñas there.