Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

रुदित्वा सुचिरं तत्र तैः समं महतीं चिताम् । कृत्वा तां संनिधायाथ प्रदत्तो हव्यवाहनः

Transliteration

ruditvā suciraṃ tatra taiḥ samaṃ mahatīṃ citām | kṛtvā tāṃ saṃnidhāyātha pradatto havyavāhanaḥ

Translation

After weeping there for a long time, together with them I prepared a great funeral pyre; having arranged her upon it, the fire—the carrier of offerings—was then kindled.

Word by Word

• रुदित्वा: having wept
• रुदित्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• सुचिरम्: for a long time
• सुचिरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सुचिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तैः: with them
• तैः: Sahakārī/Sahārtha (Accompaniment; with them)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• समम्: together
• समम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘together/equally’)

• महतīm: great, large
• महतīm: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• चिताम्: funeral pyre
• चिताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• ताम्: that (pyre)
• ताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• संनिधाय: having placed/arranged (it) properly
• संनिधाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-नि-धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), उपसर्गयुक्त धातु; ‘placing/setting near’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: sequence/then)

• प्रदत्तः: was given/handed over
• प्रदत्तः: Karta (Predicate nominal; ‘was given’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः (given/handed over)

• हव्यवाहनः: Agni (the carrier of oblations)
• हव्यवाहनः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हव्य + वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (havyasya vāhanaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta (narrative voice describing antyeṣṭi preparation)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mournful cremation scene: companions build a large pyre; the bereaved figure weeps, then kindles Agni; smoke rises into a twilight sky, suggesting the soul’s passage.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāhana)
• friends (suhṛd)
• the deceased woman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid sorrow, dharma requires proper rites; Agni is invoked as the sacred medium, reflecting ordered conduct in life’s final transitions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cremation procedure is indicated: building a funeral pyre (citā), placing the body, and kindling Agni (Havyavāhana).