Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

शाकमूलफलान्याशु श्राद्धार्थं समुपानय । सौमित्रानय वैदेही स्वयं पचति भामिनी

Transliteration

śākamūlaphalānyāśu śrāddhārthaṃ samupānaya | saumitrānaya vaidehī svayaṃ pacati bhāminī

Translation

„Bring schnell Kräuter, Wurzeln und Früchte für das Śrāddha. O Saumitri, bring sie her—Vaidehī selbst, die edle Frau, wird kochen.“

Word by Word

• शाक-मूल-फलानि: vegetables, roots, and fruits
• शाक-मूल-फलानि: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाक + मूल + फल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (copulative: vegetables+roots+fruits); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• श्राद्धार्थम्: for the śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्राद्ध + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुष (dative determinative: ‘for the purpose of śrāddha’); अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगे द्वितीया-एकवचन नपुंसक (used adverbially as purpose)

• समुपानय: bring (near)/fetch
• समुपानय: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उप-√नी (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• सौमित्र: O Saumitra (Lakṣmaṇa)
• सौमित्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौमित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• आनय: bring
• आनय: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√नी (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वैदेही: Vaidehī (Sītā)
• वैदेही: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैदेही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्वयम्: herself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मनिश्चयार्थक/क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable; ‘herself’)

• पचति: cooks
• पचति: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• भामिनी: the fair lady
• भामिनी: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण वैदेही-सम्बन्धि (appositional epithet)

Speaker

Rāma (implied by immediate context of addressing Lakṣmaṇa/Saumitri)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāma instructs Lakṣmaṇa to gather forest produce for śrāddha; Sītā is indicated as preparing to cook, embodying modest dignity in an austere setting.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa (Saumitri)
• Sītā (Vaidehī)
• śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral duty is fulfilled through coordinated household and service roles, even in austere conditions, with sincerity as the core offering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same tīrtha locale where śrāddha is arranged; its sanctity is implied by the urgency and care of preparations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Collect śāka, mūla, and phala for śrāddha; prepare the food offerings (pāka) for the rite.