Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

प्रभाते कुरुते श्राद्धं यस्तु श्रद्धासमन्वितः । पितृन्संतारयेत्सर्वान्पूर्वजैः सह धर्मवित्

Transliteration

prabhāte kurute śrāddhaṃ yastu śraddhāsamanvitaḥ | pitṛnsaṃtārayetsarvānpūrvajaiḥ saha dharmavit

Translation

และผู้ใดประกอบศราทธะ (śrāddha) ณ ที่นั้นยามรุ่งอรุณ ด้วยศรัทธาอันพร้อม—เป็นผู้รู้ธรรม—ย่อมยังปิตฤทั้งปวงให้พ้น พร้อมด้วยบรรพชนก่อนหน้า

Word by Word

• प्रभाते: in the morning
• प्रभाते: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• कुरुते: performs
• कुरुते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

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

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• श्रद्धासमन्वितः: endowed with faith
• श्रद्धासमन्वितः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रद्धा + समन्वित (प्रातिपदिक; √अन्वि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; समास: श्रद्धा + समन्वित (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष: ‘श्रद्धया समन्वितः’); ‘यः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (fathers)
• पितॄन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन

• संतारयेत्: would deliver/save
• संतारयेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; causative sense in usage: ‘to ferry across/save’

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘पितॄन्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पूर्वजैः: with the forefathers
• पूर्वजैः: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (Accompaniment/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahārtha (Association/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सह-योगे अव्यय (preposition-like indeclinable: with)

• धर्मवित्: knower of dharma
• धर्मवित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + विद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; समास: धर्म + वित् (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘धर्मं वेत्ति’)

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛṣṇa-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja / rājendra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At first light, a devotee sits facing east near the water, performing tarpaṇa with cupped hands; brāhmaṇas seated on kuśa grass receive offerings; subtle presence of pitṛs in the background as luminous ancestral silhouettes.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful performance of śrāddha at a holy place is portrayed as a direct service to one’s lineage and a dharmic act with transcendent effect.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha praised is within the Kṛṣṇa-tīrtha māhātmya section of Arbuda Khaṇḍa (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prabhāta-śrāddha—performing śrāddha at dawn with śraddhā (faith).