Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

संप्रदानक्रियां कृत्वा तत्रैव विधिपूर्वकम् । ततो हस्तग्रहं ताभ्यां मिथश्चक्रे यथाक्रमम् । मातॄणां पुरतो वेधाः सतीशाभ्यां यथोचितम्

Transliteration

saṃpradānakriyāṃ kṛtvā tatraiva vidhipūrvakam | tato hastagrahaṃ tābhyāṃ mithaścakre yathākramam | mātṝṇāṃ purato vedhāḥ satīśābhyāṃ yathocitam

Translation

Nachdem er dort, vorschriftsgemäß, die feierliche Gabe (kanyādāna) vollzogen hatte, ordnete er sodann in rechter Reihenfolge das gegenseitige Handergreifen der beiden an; und vor den Müttern (Mātṛs) leitete Vedhā, der Schöpfer (Brahmā), den Ritus für Satī und Īśa, wie es sich ziemte.

Word by Word

• saṃpradāna-kriyām: the giving/handing-over rite
• saṃpradāna-kriyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃpradāna (प्रातिपदिक) + kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having done’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• vidhi-pūrvakam: according to the prescribed procedure
• vidhi-pūrvakam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासान्त अव्यय (indeclinable adverb), ‘according to rule’

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), अपादान/क्रमवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (then/from that)

• hasta-graham: hand-taking (rite)
• hasta-graham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tābhyām: by those two (women)
• tābhyām: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्गे (Feminine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन (Dual)

• mithaḥ: mutually
• mithaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Reciprocal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mithaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), परस्परार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (reciprocal adverb)

• cakre: did/performed
• cakre: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• yathā-kramam: in proper sequence
• yathā-kramam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner/Order)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासान्त अव्यय (indeclinable adverb), ‘in due order’

• mātṝṇām: of the mothers
• mātṝṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• purataḥ: in front
• purataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in front of)

• vedhāḥ: Vedhā (Brahmā)
• vedhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vedhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• satī-īśābhyām: with Satī and Īśa (Śiva)
• satī-īśābhyām: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/Association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satī (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास (copulative), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), द्विवचन (Dual)

• yathā-ucitam: as appropriate
• yathā-ucitam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + ucita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासान्त अव्यय (indeclinable adverb), ‘as is proper’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not identifiable from snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā (Vedhā) officiates the divine wedding: kanyādāna completed, then hastagraha of Satī and Īśa; the Mātṛs stand as solemn witnesses around the ritual space.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Vedhā)
• Satī
• Īśa (Śiva)
• Mātṛs (Mother goddesses)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃskāras become sanctifying when performed by vidhi—ordered discipline—uniting personal life with cosmic and divine witness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse narrates the wedding rite within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific tīrtha name is not stated in this shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It explicitly mentions saṃpradānakriyā (kanyādāna/formal giving) and hastagrahaṇa (hand-taking), performed in due order and in the presence of the Mātṛs.