Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

नैवेद्यं च सुरामांसं धूपं च विनिवेदयेत् । दधिप्राशनमेवात्र कर्तव्यं कायशुद्धये

Transliteration

naivedyaṃ ca surāmāṃsaṃ dhūpaṃ ca vinivedayet | dadhiprāśanamevātra kartavyaṃ kāyaśuddhaye

Translation

Qu’on présente du vin et de la viande en naivedya, et qu’on offre aussi l’encens. Ici, l’ingestion rituelle prescrite est de manger du caillé (dadhi), pour la purification du corps.

Word by Word

• naivedyam: food offering
• naivedyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naivedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘food offering’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — ‘and’

• surā-māṃsam: liquor and meat
• surā-māṃsam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘liquor and meat’ (समाहार-द्वन्द्व)

• dhūpam: incense
• dhūpam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘incense’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — ‘and’

• vinivedayet: should offer
• vinivedayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-√vid (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘should present/offer’

• dadhi-prāśanam: eating curd
• dadhi-prāśanam: Karta (Subject/topic/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhi (प्रातिपदिक) + prāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘consumption of curd’

• eva: only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) — ‘only/indeed’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Contextual locus/प्रकरणाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देश/प्रकरण-निर्देशक) — ‘here/in this context’

• kartavyam: is to be done
• kartavyam: Kriya (Obligation predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + tavya (तव्यत्, कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (कर्तव्य/gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘to be done/obligatory’ (agreeing with dadhi-prāśanam)

• kāya-śuddhaye: for purification of the body
• kāya-śuddhaye: Sampradana (Purpose/प्रयोजन-चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन — ‘for bodily purification’ (प्रयोजन)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya didactic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shrine setting where offerings include a vessel of surā and a meat dish placed as naivedya; incense rises; the devotee takes a small portion of curd as prescribed prāśana for bodily purification.

Characters & Entities

• Naivedya
• Surā
• Māṃsa
• Dadhi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ritual manuals may prescribe context-specific offerings; the stated aim remains purification and disciplined observance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as part of a broader Tīrtha-māhātmya instruction sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer surā and māṃsa as naivedya, offer dhūpa, and perform dadhi-prāśana for bodily purification.