Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52
देवांश्च सृजता तेन विश्वेदेवाः कृताः पुरः । तेन ते प्रथमं पूज्याः प्रवृत्ते श्राद्धकर्मणि
devāṃśca sṛjatā tena viśvedevāḥ kṛtāḥ puraḥ | tena te prathamaṃ pūjyāḥ pravṛtte śrāddhakarmaṇi
Als Er daran ging, die Götter zu erschaffen, wurden die Viśvedevās zuerst gebildet. Darum sind sie, wenn das Śrāddha-Werk beginnt, vor allen anderen zu verehren.
Narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa (contextual: a Purāṇic teacher addressing a king; listener addressed as nṛpa in nearby verses)
Listener: nṛpa (king)
Scene: A śrāddha altar with offerings; the Viśvedevāḥ appear as a collective radiant assembly receiving first oblations, while the officiant prepares subsequent pitṛ offerings.
FAQs
Ritual order matters in Dharma: honoring the Viśvedevās first helps establish correctness and auspiciousness in Śrāddha.
The broader passage sits in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, framing Śrāddha practice in a sacred-geography context.
At the start of Śrāddha-karman, the Viśvedevās should be offered worship before other recipients.