Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यो वांछति नरोऽश्वांश्च वायुवेगसमाञ्जवे । तृतीयादिवसे श्राद्धं तेन कार्यं विपश्चिता

Transliteration

yo vāṃchati naro'śvāṃśca vāyuvegasamāñjave | tṛtīyādivase śrāddhaṃ tena kāryaṃ vipaścitā

Translation

Sinasabi ng mga pantas: ang lalaking nagnanais ng mga kabayong kasingbilis ng hangin ay dapat magsagawa ng Śrāddha sa ikatlong araw (ng Pretapakṣa).

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• vāṃchati: desires
• vāṃchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vāñch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• aśvān: horses
• aśvān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• vāyuvegasamān: equal to the speed of the wind
• vāyuvegasamān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāyu-vega-samāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; ‘aśvān’ विशेषयति

• jave: in speed / in swiftness
• jave: Adhikarana (Specification/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: java (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; (पाठभेद/संशय: ‘samāñjave’ इति संधि/लिप्यन्तरदोष सम्भवः)

• tṛtīyādivase: on the third day and onward
• tṛtīyādivase: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛtīya-ādi-divasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• śrāddham: śrāddha (rite)
• śrāddham: Karta (of passive construction/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• tena: by him
• tena: Kartr̥/Hetu (Agent/means/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); एकवचन

• kāryam: should be performed
• kāryam: Kriya (Obligation predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + kārya (कृदन्त, यत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्ययान्त; विधेय (gerundive/‘to be done’)

• vipaścitā: O wise one
• vipaścitā: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipaścit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन; (पाठे ‘विपश्चिता’ इति दीर्घान्तः—सम्बोधनरूपेण ग्रहणम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic instruction; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pretapakṣa Tṛtīyā śrāddha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual scene juxtaposed with the desired fruit: after śrāddha offerings, swift horses appear in the background—wind-swept manes, dynamic posture—symbolizing the boon; the sage’s hand gestures toward the third lunar day.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual action aligned with sacred time is presented as dharma that harmonizes ancestral rites with righteous prosperity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is a general Pretapakṣa śrāddha instruction within a Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śrāddha is prescribed on Tṛtīyā (the third lunar day) for the stated benefit.