Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 183

Devanagari script

श्राद्धे दाने व्रते योग्यान् ब्राह्मणान् पाण्डुनन्दन । प्रेतानां पूजनं तत्र देवपूर्वं समारभेत्

Transliteration

śrāddhe dāne vrate yogyān brāhmaṇān pāṇḍunandana | pretānāṃ pūjanaṃ tatra devapūrvaṃ samārabhet

Translation

ഹേ പാണ്ഡുനന്ദന, ശ്രാദ്ധം, ദാനം, വ്രതം എന്നിവയിൽ യോഗ്യരായ ബ്രാഹ്മണരെ മാത്രമേ നിയോഗിക്കൂ; അവിടെ പ്രേതപൂജ ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത് ആദ്യം ദേവപൂജ ചെയ്തശേഷം മാത്രമാകണം।

Word by Word

• श्राद्धे: in śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धे: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• दाने: in giving (charity)
• दाने: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• व्रते: in a vow/observance
• व्रते: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• योग्यान्: worthy, fit
• योग्यान्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: योग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण (ब्राह्मणान्)

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• पाण्डुनन्दन: O son of Pāṇḍu
• पाण्डुनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डु-नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक; पाण्डु + नन्दन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पाण्डोः नन्दनः’)

• प्रेतानाम्: of the departed spirits
• प्रेतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• पूजनम्: worship, honoring
• पूजनम्: Karta (Action-noun as subject/भावकर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता/भाव), एकवचन; भाववाचक संज्ञा

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय

• देवपूर्वम्: beginning with (worship of) the gods first
• देवपूर्वम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: देव-पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक; देव + पूर्व)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb): ‘देवान् पूर्वं कृत्वा/देवपूजनपूर्वकं’

• समारभेत्: should commence
• समारभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+√रभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Narrator within Revākhaṇḍa addressing Pāṇḍunandana (royal listener, i.e., Arjuna/Pārtha as a style of address)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Eraṇḍī (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira) explicitly addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual sequence at a riverside altar: first a small deva-pūjā with lamps and flowers, then pitṛ offerings with kuśa grass and piṇḍas; brāhmaṇas officiate while the patron stands with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Deva
• Preta
• Śrāddha
• Pāṇḍunandana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right order (Devas first, then Pitṛs) and worthy recipients safeguard dharma and make rites spiritually efficacious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa context points to Eraṇḍī-saṅgama, a confluence tīrtha on/near the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

In śrāddha and related observances, select qualified Brāhmaṇas and begin offerings to the departed only after Deva-pūjā.