Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8
शक्तींश्चैव वसूंश्चैव ग्रहान्यज्ञादिदेवताः । नमस्कृत्य शुभान्विप्रान्कविमुख्यांश्च सर्वशः
śaktīṃścaiva vasūṃścaiva grahānyajñādidevatāḥ | namaskṛtya śubhānviprānkavimukhyāṃśca sarvaśaḥ
“Aku pun menghaturkan sembah kepada para Śakti, para Vasu, para Graha (kekuatan langit), serta para dewa penguasa yajña dan upacara lainnya; dan dengan segala hormat aku bersujud kepada brāhmaṇa yang suci serta para resi/pujangga utama—(lalu kulanjutkan).”
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)
Listener: ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Sūta’s salutations expand outward: subtle iconographic hints of Śaktis (feminine energies), eight Vasus, nine Grahas in a celestial arc, and yajña-devatās around a symbolic altar; brāhmaṇas and poet-sages receive reverence in the foreground.
FAQs
Dharma begins with reverence—honoring divine forces and the learned guardians of sacred speech and ritual.
No specific site is mentioned; it is a universal invocation prior to narration.
It implies the customary practice of offering salutations to presiding deities of yajña and to brāhmaṇas before commencing sacred recitation.