Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

प्रणिपत्य द्विजैः सर्वैर्गच्छमाना निवारिता । मा देवयजनं गच्छ सावित्रि पतिवल्लभे

Transliteration

praṇipatya dvijaiḥ sarvairgacchamānā nivāritā | mā devayajanaṃ gaccha sāvitri pativallabhe

Translation

«Comme elle s’apprêtait à partir, tous les brāhmanes se prosternèrent et la retinrent, disant : “Ô Sāvitrī, bien-aimée de ton époux, ne va pas au lieu du sacrifice (devayajana) !”»

Word by Word

• praṇipatya: having bowed down
• praṇipatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√nam (नम् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (absolutive)

• dvijaiḥ: by the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijaiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Instrumental plural; adjective qualifying dvijaiḥ)

• gacchamānā: going, proceeding
• gacchamānā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: gacchat)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्तरि (Feminine nominative singular)

• nivāritā: restrained, stopped
• nivāritā: Karta-bhāva (State of subject/कर्तृभाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-√vṛ (वृ धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: nivārita)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (PPP; Feminine nominative singular)

• mā: do not
• mā: Sambandha (Prohibition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (prohibitive particle used with imperative)

• devayajanam: the sacrifice/ritual for the gods
• devayajanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + yajana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (devānāṃ yajanam) (Neuter accusative singular)

• gaccha: go
• gaccha: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Imperative 2nd sg)

• sāvitri: O Sāvitrī
• sāvitri: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāvitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन (Vocative singular)

• pativallabhe: O beloved of (your) husband
• pativallabhe: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक) + vallabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pateḥ vallabhā) (Vocative singular)

Speaker

Dvijās/Brāhmaṇas (addressing Sāvitrī) — inferred from syntax and narrative

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devayajana (within/near Hāṭakeśvara Mahākṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sāvitrī, poised to depart toward the sacrificial ground, is gently but firmly stopped by a group of brāhmaṇas who bow (praṇipāta) and plead with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇas)
• Devayajana (sacrificial place)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even powerful emotions should be guided by dharmic counsel; sacred rites and their spaces require restraint and right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode unfolds in the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra milieu; the ‘devayajana’ is the sacrificial locus within the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A caution regarding approaching the devayajana (yajña-site), implying the sanctity and rules governing sacrificial spaces.