Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

पौर्णमास्यां रवैर्वारे स पितॄनुद्धरेन्निजान् । अपि स्वकर्मणा प्राप्तान्नरके दारुणाकृतौ

Transliteration

paurṇamāsyāṃ ravairvāre sa pitṝnuddharennijān | api svakarmaṇā prāptānnarake dāruṇākṛtau

Translation

पौर्णमास्यां यदा रविवासरः स्यात्, तदा स निजान् पितॄन् उद्धरेत्। स्वकर्मणा नरके दारुणाकृतौ प्राप्तान् अपि तान् समुद्धरेत्।

Word by Word

• paurṇamāsyām: on the full-moon day
• paurṇamāsyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ravaiḥ: on Sunday (lit. by the Suns)
• ravaiḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Time marker; idiomatic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural); अर्थे—‘रविवारे’ इति (Sunday) हेतु/सम्बन्धे

• vāre: on the day
• vāre: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• pitṝn: the fathers/ancestors
• pitṝn: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• uddharet: would lift up/rescue
• uddharet: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√hṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्

• nijān: his own
• nijān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषणं pitṝn

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Concession/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle; concessive/emphatic)

• sva-karmaṇā: by their own deeds
• sva-karmaṇā: Karaṇa/Hetu (Means/cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारयः—‘स्वं कर्म’

• prāptān: having reached; fallen into
• prāptān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-āp (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषणं pitṝn

• narake: in hell
• narake: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• dāruṇa-ākṛtau: of dreadful form/condition
• dāruṇa-ākṛtau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of narake; locative description)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः—‘दारुणा आकृतिः’

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within the Purāṇic frame

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Not shown in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night of the full moon; a devotee performs tarpaṇa and śrāddha by lamp-light; above, the moon glows while the sun’s day (Sunday) is symbolically indicated; in a visionary overlay, ancestors rise from a dark infernal realm toward light.

Characters & Entities

• Paurṇamāsī
• Ravivāra (Sunday)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Naraka
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate duty to ancestors, performed with correct timing at a sacred place, can mitigate even severe karmic destinies.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya framework (Nāgara Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha (implied from prior verse) on Paurṇimā specifically when it coincides with Ravivāra (Sunday).