Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

तैस्त्वष्टादशसंख्याकैस्त्रैविद्यैर्मेहिवाडवैः । यज्ञं चकार विधिवत्तैरेवायतबुद्धिभिः

Transliteration

taistvaṣṭādaśasaṃkhyākaistraividyairmehivāḍavaiḥ | yajñaṃ cakāra vidhivattairevāyatabuddhibhiḥ

Translation

Mit jenen achtzehn — kundig in der dreifachen vedischen Lehre — vollzog Rāma das Yajña vorschriftsgemäß, unterstützt von eben diesen Männern mit festem und weitreichendem Verstand.

Word by Word

• taiḥ: by them
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/सह), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अनुवादक (but/indeed)

• aṣṭādaśa-saṃkhyākaiḥ: by those numbering eighteen
• aṣṭādaśa-saṃkhyākaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭādaśa (अष्टादश संख्या) + saṃkhyāka (संख्याक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (संख्या-निर्देश), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying vipraiḥ understood)

• traividyaiḥ: by the knowers of the three Vedas
• traividyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: traividya (त्रैविद्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (versed in the three Vedas)

• mehivāḍavaiḥ: by the Mehivāḍava (Brahmins)
• mehivāḍavaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mehivāḍava (मेहिवाडव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; जाति/गोत्र-नाम (proper/lineage term)

• yajñam: sacrifice
• yajñam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (यज्ञ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• cakāra: performed/did
• cakāra: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• vidhivat: according to the prescribed rite
• vidhivat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhivat (विधिवत् अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (according to rule)

• taiḥ: by them
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic: only/indeed)

• āyata-buddhibhiḥ: by the steady-minded
• āyata-buddhibhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āyata (आयत प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (बुद्धि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (विशेषणपूर्वपद), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of steady/extended intellect)

Speaker

Narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma presides over a blazing sacred fire; eighteen Vedic experts surround the altar, chanting in coordinated cadence; ritual implements arranged precisely; atmosphere of disciplined devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Eighteen Brāhmaṇas
• Trividyā (three Vedas)
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual efficacy arises from vidhivat performance supported by learned, disciplined officiants.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya as the sanctified venue where an impeccably conducted yajña is undertaken.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Conduct the yajña strictly according to injunction (vidhivat) with trividyā Brahmins.