Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

कृष्णालयं तु यो गत्वा गोमत्यां पिंडपातनम् । करोति शक्त्या दानं च मुक्तास्तस्य पितामहाः

Transliteration

kṛṣṇālayaṃ tu yo gatvā gomatyāṃ piṃḍapātanam | karoti śaktyā dānaṃ ca muktāstasya pitāmahāḥ

Translation

कृष्णालयं तु यो गत्वा गोमत्यां पिंडपातनम् । करोति शक्त्या दानं च मुक्तास्तस्य पितामहाः ॥

Word by Word

• कृष्णालयम्: the abode/temple of Krishna
• कृष्णालयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण + आलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: कृष्णस्य आलयः)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

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

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Adverbial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having gone)

• गोमत्याम्: in/at the Gomati (river)
• गोमत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• पिण्डपातनम्: the offering/letting-fall of rice-balls (piṇḍa-offering)
• पिण्डपातनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + पातन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कर्मधारय/षष्ठीभावः: पिण्डस्य पातनम्)

• करोति: does/performs
• करोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• शक्त्या: with (his) ability/as able
• शक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; साधन/हेतु-अर्थे (according to one’s ability)

• दानम्: a gift/charity
• दानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• मुक्ताः: liberated/freed
• मुक्ताः: Karta (Predicate nominative/विशेष्य-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; मुच् धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

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

• पितामहाः: forefathers/grandfathers (ancestors)
• पितामहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (contextual attribution for Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomatī (Dvārakā) / Kṛṣṇālaya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Gomati-ghāṭa, a pilgrim offers piṇḍas on the riverbank facing Kṛṣṇa’s temple; priests recite mantras; nearby, the pilgrim distributes alms. Subtle ancestral figures are shown rising toward light, signifying liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛṣṇālaya
• Gomatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage joined with ancestral rites and capacity-based charity becomes a powerful dharmic means for granting peace and liberation to one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṛṣṇālaya in Dvārakā, with the Gomati river as the sacred setting for piṇḍa offerings.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Piṇḍa-pātana (piṇḍa offerings for ancestors) on the Gomati, along with dāna (charity) performed according to one’s means.