Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

द्वौ देवेऽथर्वणौ विप्रौ प्राङ्मुखौ च निवेशयेत् । पित्र्ये ह्युदङ्मुखान्कुर्याद्बह्वृचाध्वर्युसामगान्

Transliteration

dvau deve'tharvaṇau viprau prāṅmukhau ca niveśayet | pitrye hyudaṅmukhānkuryādbahvṛcādhvaryusāmagān

Translation

Für die Riten an die Devas setze man zwei Atharvan-Brāhmaṇas mit dem Gesicht nach Osten. Für die Riten an die Pitṛs aber setze man Bahvṛc-, Adhvaryu- und Sāmaga-Priester mit dem Gesicht nach Norden.

Word by Word

• dvau: two
• dvau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (विप्रौ)

• deve: divine/holy
• deve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (अथर्वणौ)

• atharvaṇau: two Atharvans (Atharvavedins)
• atharvaṇau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: atharvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), द्विवचन

• viprau: two Brahmins
• viprau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), द्विवचन

• prāṅmukhau: facing east
• prāṅmukhau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāṅ (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), द्विवचन; तत्पुरुषः (प्राङ् मुखं यस्य)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• niveśayet: should seat/place
• niveśayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni+viś (धातु, णिच्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच् (causative)

• pitrye: in the ancestral rite
• pitrye: Adhikarana (Occasion/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; पितृ-सम्बन्धि कर्म

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये अव्यय (for/indeed)

• udaṅmukhān: facing north
• udaṅmukhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udaṅ (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (उदङ् मुखं येषाम्)

• kuryāt: should make/arrange
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bahvṛca: Ṛgvedin (Bahvṛc)
• bahvṛca: Sambandha (Compound-member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahvṛc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-रूप (समासाङ्ग)

• adhvaryu: Yajurvedin (Adhvaryu)
• adhvaryu: Sambandha (Compound-member/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhvaryu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक-रूप (समासाङ्ग)

• sāmagān: Sāmavedins (and the others)
• sāmagān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāmaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन; पूर्वपदद्वयेन सह समाहार-द्वन्द्वसमासः (बह्वृच-adhvaryu-sāmaga)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual hall diagrammatically clear: two Atharvan priests seated facing east before a small altar for deva rite; separately, three priests (Bahvṛc, Adhvaryu, Sāmaga) seated facing north for pitṛ rite, with the yajamāna arranging seats on kuśa mats.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Pitṛs
• Atharvan
• Bahvṛc
• Adhvaryu
• Sāmaga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred directionality (dik) is part of dharma; aligning priestly seating with the rite aligns the rite with its cosmic recipient.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where precise śrāddha and deva-ritual procedures are taught as the proper way to honor the sacred field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seat priests facing specific directions: for Deva rites, two Atharvans facing east; for Pitṛ rites, the Ṛg/Yajur/Sāma priests facing north.