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

Puis, lorsque le śrāddha eut été accompli selon le rite et que les brāhmaṇas se furent retirés, la vertueuse fille de Janaka, Sītā, apparut aussitôt.

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.