Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अयं भाद्रपदे मासे पितॄणामनुपासनात् । ययौ वेतालतां विप्रो यस्त्वां जग्राह पापिनम्

Transliteration

ayaṃ bhādrapade māse pitṝṇāmanupāsanāt | yayau vetālatāṃ vipro yastvāṃ jagrāha pāpinam

Translation

ในเดือนภัทรปทา เพราะละเลยการบูชาบรรพชน (ปิตฤ) พราหมณ์ผู้นั้น—ผู้จับเจ้า ผู้เป็นคนบาป—จึงตกสู่สภาพเป็นเวตาละ

Word by Word

• ayam: this (man)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhādrapade: in Bhādrapada
• bhādrapade: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhādrapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक-अधिकरणम्

• māse: in the month
• māse: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालवाचक-अधिकरणम्

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• anupāsanāt: due to neglect of worship/attendance
• anupāsanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anu√ās (धातु) [उपासने] + ana (प्रत्यय) → anupāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ (ablative of cause)

• yayau: went/became
• yayau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) [गत्यर्थे]
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vetālatām: the state of being a vetāla (ghoul)
• vetālatām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vetāla-tā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; गत्यर्थकर्म (object of 'went to state')

• vipraḥ: the brāhmaṇa
• vipraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• jagrāha: seized/took
• jagrāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (धातु) [ग्रहणे]
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• pāpinam: sinful
• pāpinam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मविशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cautionary tableau: in Bhādrapada, a Brāhmaṇa who neglected ancestor worship is shown slipping into a vetāla-like condition—shadowy aura, disheveled hair—while a narrator points to the moral; nearby, offerings for pitṛs remain undone.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Vetāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglecting Pitṛ-upāsanā, especially in sacred times, is portrayed as karmically dangerous and degrading.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred geography; the verse itself stresses the sanctity of Bhādrapada/Mahālaya time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain regular ancestral worship and do not omit Mahālaya-related observances.