Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

एषा नो दक्षिणा देव यज्ञस्यैव समुद्भवा

Transliteration

eṣā no dakṣiṇā deva yajñasyaiva samudbhavā

Translation

«Ô Dieu, voici notre dakṣiṇā, l’honoraire sacerdotal, né du sacrifice lui-même.»

Word by Word

• eṣā: this (she/this gift)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular (fem.)

• naḥ: of us/our
• naḥ: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; genitive plural (enclitic)

• dakṣiṇā: ritual fee/gift (dakṣiṇā)
• dakṣiṇā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative singular

• yajñasya: of the sacrifice
• yajñasya: Shashthi-Sambandha (Relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; genitive singular

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• samudbhavā: arisen/originating
• samudbhavā: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samudbhavā (प्रातिपदिक) < √bhū (भू) उपसर्ग: सम्+उद्
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण (भूतकृदन्त/निष्पन्नार्थ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular feminine

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (officiants in the ritual narrative)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Deva (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ritualists present a consecrated gift as dakṣiṇā to a deity/ritual focus, emphasizing that the offering arises from the yajña itself.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Dakṣiṇā
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacrifice is completed and sanctified through rightful giving—dakṣiṇā is treated as an essential dharmic outcome of yajña.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it is a ritual statement within the broader tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering dakṣiṇā (a formal gift/fee) as an integral part of yajña.