Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

क्षुत्पिपासार्तदेहाश्च पितरस्तस्य दुःखिताः । स्थास्यंति वत्सरं यावदेतदाह पितामहः

Transliteration

kṣutpipāsārtadehāśca pitarastasya duḥkhitāḥ | sthāsyaṃti vatsaraṃ yāvadetadāha pitāmahaḥ

Translation

तस्य पितरः क्षुत्पिपासाभ्यां पीडितदेहाः दुःखिताः सन्तो वत्सरपर्यन्तं क्लिश्यन्ति—इति पितामहः (ब्रह्मा) अवदत्।

Word by Word

• क्षुत्-पिपासा-आर्त-देहाः: having bodies afflicted by hunger and thirst
• क्षुत्-पिपासा-आर्त-देहाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पिपासा (प्रातिपदिक) + आर्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (क्षुत्पिपासाभ्याम् आर्ताः देहाः येषां ते)

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

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

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

• दुःखिताः: distressed
• दुःखिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःखित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• स्थास्यन्ति: will remain/stand
• स्थास्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• वत्सरम्: for a year
• वत्सरम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणार्थे (duration)

• यावत्: until/as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Limiter/अवधि-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधिबोधक (until/as long as)

• एतत्: this (statement/thing)
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आह: said
• आह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्/आह् (धातु: √अह् ‘to say’)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पितामहः: the grandsire (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Bhagavān

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śrī Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Assemblage of sages (naimiṣāraṇya frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A liminal pitṛ-loka tableau: emaciated ancestors with parched throats stand in a shadowed intermediate realm, while Brahmā (Pitāmaha) pronounces the rule; below, a devotee prepares śrāddha offerings (piṇḍa, water, sesame).

Characters & Entities

• Pitaraḥ (ancestors)
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Hunger and thirst (kṣut-pipāsā)
• Śrāddha (implied from prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of pitṛ-dharma has real spiritual consequences; śrāddha is portrayed as compassionate sustenance for the departed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger passage exalts Gayā for liberation-giving śrāddha, though this verse stresses the consequence of omission rather than a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly: perform the ordained śrāddha; otherwise the ancestors are said to endure hunger and thirst for up to a year.