Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

भगवन्न प्रयच्छंति नित्यं नो वंशसंभवाः । श्राद्धानि दौःस्थ्यमापन्नास्तेन सीदामहे विभो

Transliteration

bhagavanna prayacchaṃti nityaṃ no vaṃśasaṃbhavāḥ | śrāddhāni dauḥsthyamāpannāstena sīdāmahe vibho

Translation

ఓ భగవాన్! మా వంశంలో పుట్టినవారు నిత్యం మా శ్రాద్ధాలను సమర్పించడం లేదు. అందువల్ల కష్టస్థితికి చేరి, ఓ విభో, మేము క్షీణిస్తున్నాము।

Word by Word

• भगवन्: O Lord
• भगवन्: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• प्रयच्छन्ति: they give/bestow
• प्रयच्छन्ति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचन (adverbial accusative: always)

• नः: our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) बहुवचन; ‘our’

• वंशसम्भवाः: descendants
• वंशसम्भवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समास: वंशस्य सम्भवाः (descendants of the lineage)

• श्राद्धानि: śrāddha rites/offerings
• श्राद्धानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• दौःस्थ्यम्: poverty/distress
• दौःस्थ्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौःस्थ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/condition)

• आपन्नाः: having fallen into/afflicted by
• आपन्नाः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-√पद् (धातु) → आपन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकालिक-कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ‘vaṃśasambhavāḥ’)

• तेन: therefore/by that
• तेन: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; कारणे (therefore/by that)

• सीदामहे: we languish/suffer
• सीदामहे: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• विभो: O mighty one
• विभो: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (collectively), speaking to Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā (addressed as Bhagavan, Vibho)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pitṛs address Brahmā directly: ‘Our descendants do not give our śrāddhas; we suffer hardship and languish.’ The scene is an emotional celestial petition with folded hands and earnest faces.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Descendants have an ongoing duty to sustain the ancestral line through śrāddha; neglect harms the Pitṛs and reflects dharmic decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is not site-specific; it is a doctrinal statement within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular performance of śrāddha by descendants (vaṃśaja) is explicitly demanded as necessary support for Pitṛs.