Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

श्राद्धीयप्रेतपक्षस्य मुख्यभूतं च यन्नृप । य इच्छेत्कन्यकां श्रेष्ठां सुशीलां रूपसंयु ताम् । द्वितीयादिवसे तेन श्राद्धं कार्यं महीपते

Transliteration

śrāddhīyapretapakṣasya mukhyabhūtaṃ ca yannṛpa | ya icchetkanyakāṃ śreṣṭhāṃ suśīlāṃ rūpasaṃyu tām | dvitīyādivase tena śrāddhaṃ kāryaṃ mahīpate

Translation

Ôi Đại vương, trong các nghi lễ Śrāddha của nửa tháng Pitṛ (Pretapakṣa), điều này được xem là một pháp hành trọng yếu: ai mong cầu một thiếu nữ ưu tú, có đức hạnh và dung nhan, thì nên làm Śrāddha vào ngày thứ hai, hỡi chúa tể của cõi đất.

Word by Word

• śrāddhīyapretapakṣasya: of the śrāddha-related preta period/fortnight
• śrāddhīyapretapakṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddhīya-preta-pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• mukhyabhūtam: the principal (one)
• mukhyabhūtam: Pradhana (Predicate qualifier/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukhya-bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd); एकवचन; विधेयविशेषण

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

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd); एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

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

• icchet: should desire
• icchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kanyakām: a maiden
• kanyakām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• śreṣṭhām: excellent
• śreṣṭhām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; ‘kanyakām’ विशेषयति

• suśīlām: well-mannered
• suśīlām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-śīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; ‘kanyakām’ विशेषयति

• rūpasaṃyutām: endowed with beauty
• rūpasaṃyutām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūpa-saṃyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; ‘kanyakām’ विशेषयति

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

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

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

• mahīpate: O king
• mahīpate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pretapakṣa Dvitīyā śrāddha (principal observance)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Second-day śrāddha: a householder/king offers piṇḍas and feeds brāhmaṇas; women of the household prepare offerings; the sage points to the lunar calendar marking Dvitīyā; pitṛs appear content in a subtle celestial band.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha performed with faith and proper timing (tithi) is taught as a potent dharmic act whose fruits extend to both ancestors’ satisfaction and the performer’s worldly welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse focuses on Pretapakṣa śrāddha-tithi merits within Tīrthamāhātmya; no single named tīrtha is specified in the given excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha on the second lunar day (Dvitīyā) of Pretapakṣa for the stated desired result.