Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

ततो वेदिं समाधाय पैतृकीं दक्षिणाप्लवाम् । तस्यां दर्भान्समाधाय कुर्याच्चैवावनेजनम्

Transliteration

tato vediṃ samādhāya paitṛkīṃ dakṣiṇāplavām | tasyāṃ darbhānsamādhāya kuryāccaivāvanejanam

Translation

Puis, ayant préparé comme il se doit l’autel des ancêtres (pitṛ), incliné vers le sud, qu’on y dispose l’herbe darbha et qu’on accomplisse le rite de purification par l’ablution.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (thereafter)

• वेदीम्: altar
• वेदीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• समाधाय: having set/arranged
• समाधाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + √धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): having arranged/placed

• पैतृकीम्: ancestral
• पैतृकीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पैतृकी (प्रातिपदिक; पितृ-सम्बन्धी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (ancestral)

• दक्षिणा-प्लवाम्: sloping southwards
• दक्षिणा-प्लवाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दक्षिणया प्लवते/प्लवः) = sloping to the south / with southern inclination

• तस्याम्: in that (altar)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (in that [altar])

• दर्भान्: darbha grass
• दर्भान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• समाधाय: having placed
• समाधाय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + √धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: having placed/arranged

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• अवनेजनम्: cleansing/washing
• अवनेजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवनेजन (प्रातिपदिक; from अव + √नीज्/√निज् ‘to wash/cleanse’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाफल/कर्म (act of washing/cleansing)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king (rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small earthen or sand altar is laid out; the performer faces south, arranging darbha neatly; a water vessel is used for ritual washing before commencing offerings.

Characters & Entities

• paitṛkī vedi
• dakṣiṇā (south)
• darbha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha honors ancestors through disciplined sacred geometry—direction, materials, and purification are treated as carriers of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it is a general pitṛ-ritual instruction within the tīrtha-māhātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Set up the pitṛ-vedi oriented southward, place darbha on it, and perform avanejana (ritual washing/cleansing).