Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

ततो निर्वर्तिते श्राद्धे ब्राह्मणेषु गतेष्वथ । जनकस्य सुता साध्वी तत्क्षणात्समुपस्थिता

Transliteration

tato nirvartite śrāddhe brāhmaṇeṣu gateṣvatha | janakasya sutā sādhvī tatkṣaṇātsamupasthitā

Translation

When the śrāddha had been duly completed and the brāhmaṇas had departed, Janaka’s virtuous daughter, Sītā, appeared at once.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb): 'thereupon/then'

• nirvartite: (when) completed
• nirvartite: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir√vṛt (धातु) + -ita (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; 'nirvartite' = 'when completed' (locative absolute with śrāddhe)

• śrāddhe: in/at the śrāddha rite
• śrāddhe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; locative absolute with nirvartite

• brāhmaṇeṣu: when the brāhmaṇas
• brāhmaṇeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; locative absolute with gateṣu

• gateṣu: having gone
• gateṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gam (धातु) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; 'gateṣu brāhmaṇeṣu' = 'when the brāhmaṇas had gone'

• atha: then, and then
• atha: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (particle)

• janakasya: of Janaka
• janakasya: Sambandha (Genitive/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• sutā: daughter
• sutā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• sādhvī: virtuous, chaste
• sādhvī: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण of sutā

• tatkṣaṇāt: immediately, at that moment
• tatkṣaṇāt: Apādāna/Hetu (Ablative used adverbially)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tat-kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/निर्देश-सम्बन्ध): tat + kṣaṇa; पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणार्थे 'immediately'

• samupasthitā: appeared, came near
• samupasthitā: Kriyā (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-upa√sthā (धातु) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; finite-sense: 'appeared/arrived' agreeing with sutā

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A quiet forest hermitage just after śrāddha: leaf-plates cleared, brāhmaṇas departing along a path; in the foreground Sītā appears suddenly, luminous yet modest, as Rāma turns toward her.

Characters & Entities

• Sītā (Janaka’s daughter)
• Janaka
• brāhmaṇas
• śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual actions have an order: duties are concluded first, and only then personal matters are addressed—protecting the sanctity of śrāddha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a tīrtha; it belongs to the chapter’s larger sacred-place framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies the proper completion (nirvṛtti) of śrāddha and the respectful sending off of brāhmaṇas.