Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

उत्तानमर्घपात्रं तु कृत्वा दद्याच्च दक्षिणाम् । हिरण्यं देवतानां च पितॄणां रजतं तथा

Transliteration

uttānamarghapātraṃ tu kṛtvā dadyācca dakṣiṇām | hiraṇyaṃ devatānāṃ ca pitṝṇāṃ rajataṃ tathā

Translation

Nachdem man das Arghya-Gefäß nach oben gerichtet aufgestellt hat, soll man auch die Dakṣiṇā (Ehrengabe) darbringen: Gold für die Gottheiten und ebenso Silber für die Pitṛs, die Ahnen.

Word by Word

• uttānam: upturned / with mouth upward
• uttānam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Accusative, Singular; adjective)

• argha-pātram: offering-vessel
• argha-pātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: argha (प्रातिपदिक) + pātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अर्घस्य पात्रम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/अवधारण-निपात) = but/indeed

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; अर्थ: ‘कृत्वा’ (having made/done)

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; अर्थ: ‘दद्यात्’ (should give)

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

• dakṣiṇām: fee/gift (dakṣiṇā)
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• hiraṇyam: gold
• hiraṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hiraṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• devatānām: of the deities
• devatānām: Sambandha (Recipient-relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Feminine, Genitive, Plural)

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

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Recipient-relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• rajatam: silver
• rajatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = likewise/so

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The arghya vessel is set upright; the patron offers dakṣiṇā—gold and silver—into the hands of officiating brāhmaṇas, with piṇḍa-setup in the background indicating rite completion.

Characters & Entities

• Devatās
• Pitṛs
• Arghya
• Dakṣiṇā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld by honoring both the divine and the ancestral realms, and by properly supporting the ritual through dakṣiṇā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is a tīrtha-māhātmya, but the verse itself is a general ritual rule without naming the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Place the arghya vessel upward and give dakṣiṇā—gold designated for deities and silver designated for ancestors.