Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

योऽष्टम्यां श्रद्धया श्राद्धं नरः कुर्यान्महालयम् । अशीतिकल्पसाहस्रं तृप्यंति पितरोऽस्य वै

Transliteration

yo'ṣṭamyāṃ śraddhayā śrāddhaṃ naraḥ kuryānmahālayam | aśītikalpasāhasraṃ tṛpyaṃti pitaro'sya vai

Translation

หากบุรุษใดประกอบมหาลยะศราทธะในวันอัษฏมีด้วยศรัทธา ปิตฤของเขาย่อมอิ่มเอมตลอดแปดหมื่นกัลป์

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘who’

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth lunar day
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• śraddhayā: with faith
• śraddhayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; instrumental singular

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; apposition to yaḥ

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; should do

• mahālayam: Mahālaya (as śrāddha)
• mahālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; in apposition to śrāddham (Mahālaya-śrāddha)

• aśītikalpasāhasram: for eighty-thousand kalpas
• aśītikalpasāhasram: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Extent/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśīti (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (काल-अत्यन्तसंयोग/परिमाण), एकवचन; accusative of extent of time/number; ‘eighty-thousand kalpas’

• tṛpyanti: are satisfied
• tṛpyanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛp (तृप् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; are satisfied

• pitaraḥ: the ancestors
• pitaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (पितृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; subject

• asya: of him
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; genitive singular

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphasis

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahālaya (aṣṭamī) at Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/ṛṣis audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee offers piṇḍas and tila-water on aṣṭamī; above him, radiant pitṛs receive the offerings and appear content, with a cosmic backdrop suggesting immense time.

Characters & Entities

• Pitaraḥ (Ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful śrāddha is portrayed as a supremely effective act of gratitude and dharma toward one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu-kṣetra, in whose māhātmya these time-specific śrāddha merits are enumerated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Mahālaya śrāddha on aṣṭamī with śraddhā (faith).