Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततश्चास्तं गते भानौ निराशा दुःखसंयुताः । निःश्वस्य सुचिरं यांति गर्हयंति स्ववंशजम्

Transliteration

tataścāstaṃ gate bhānau nirāśā duḥkhasaṃyutāḥ | niḥśvasya suciraṃ yāṃti garhayaṃti svavaṃśajam

Translation

پھر جب سورج غروب ہو جاتا ہے تو وہ نااُمید اور غم سے لدے ہوئے روانہ ہو جاتے ہیں؛ گہری آہ بھر کر دور نکل جاتے ہیں اور اپنے ہی نسل کے اُس فرد کو ملامت کرتے ہیں جس نے اُنہیں محروم رکھا۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb: "thereupon/then"

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात) = conjunction "and"

• astaṃ: setting (to the west), sunset-state
• astaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन = Neuter, Accusative, Singular; गमनक्रियायाः लक्ष्यस्थानम्

• gate: having gone (set)
• gate: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (गम् धातु) + gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; भानौ इति विशेषणम् = PPP in Locative Singular agreeing with "bhānau"

• bhānau: in the sun (when the sun)
• bhānau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन = Masculine, Locative, Singular

• nirāśāḥ: hopeless, without expectation
• nirāśāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirāśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), बहुवचन = Feminine, Nominative, Plural; (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-बहुवचनरूपेण जनसमूहस्य विशेषणम्)

• duḥkha-saṃyutāḥ: joined with sorrow, sorrowful
• duḥkha-saṃyutāḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (सम्+युज् धातु, क्त कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दुःखेन संयुताः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Tatpurusha compound; Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• niḥśvasya: having sighed
• niḥśvasya: Kriya (Preceding action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niḥ-śvas (निः+श्वस् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = absolutive: "having sighed"

• suciram: for a long time
• suciram: Kala-adhikarana (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sucira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत् (नपुंसक-द्वितीया-एकवचनरूपेण) = adverbial accusative: "for a long time"

• yānti: they go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन = Present Indicative, 3rd person plural

• garhayaṃti: they censure, blame
• garhayaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: garh (गर्ह् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन = Present Indicative, 3rd person plural

• sva-vaṃśajam: their own descendant
• sva-vaṃśajam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + vaṃśaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (स्वस्य वंशजः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन = Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Sun has set; the doorway is dark. Ethereal Pitṛs turn away, shoulders bowed, exhaling long sighs, casting a reproachful glance back toward the negligent household.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (implied)
• Bhānu (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of ancestral duty is framed as a serious moral failure that brings sorrow to the Pitṛs and blame upon the descendant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named; the verse supports the broader māhātmya atmosphere by stressing the gravity of proper rites within sacred time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Complete Śrāddha before sunset on amāvāsyā; otherwise the Pitṛs are said to depart dissatisfied.