Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

नैवेद्यं च सुरामांसं धूपं च विनिवेदयेत् । दधिप्राशनमेवात्र कर्तव्यं कायशुद्धये

Transliteration

naivedyaṃ ca surāmāṃsaṃ dhūpaṃ ca vinivedayet | dadhiprāśanamevātra kartavyaṃ kāyaśuddhaye

Translation

നൈവേദ്യമായി സുരയും മാംസവും സമർപ്പിക്കുകയും ധൂപവും അർപ്പിക്കുകയും വേണം. ഇവിടെ ദേഹശുദ്ധിക്കായി പ്രത്യേകമായി ദധി-പ്രാശനം (തൈര് സ്വീകരിക്കൽ) ചെയ്യണം।

Word by Word

• naivedyam: food offering
• naivedyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naivedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘food offering’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — ‘and’

• surā-māṃsam: liquor and meat
• surā-māṃsam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surā (प्रातिपदिक) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘liquor and meat’ (समाहार-द्वन्द्व)

• dhūpam: incense
• dhūpam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘incense’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — ‘and’

• vinivedayet: should offer
• vinivedayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-√vid (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘should present/offer’

• dadhi-prāśanam: eating curd
• dadhi-prāśanam: Karta (Subject/topic/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhi (प्रातिपदिक) + prāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘consumption of curd’

• eva: only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) — ‘only/indeed’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Contextual locus/प्रकरणाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देश/प्रकरण-निर्देशक) — ‘here/in this context’

• kartavyam: is to be done
• kartavyam: Kriya (Obligation predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + tavya (तव्यत्, कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (कर्तव्य/gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘to be done/obligatory’ (agreeing with dadhi-prāśanam)

• kāya-śuddhaye: for purification of the body
• kāya-śuddhaye: Sampradana (Purpose/प्रयोजन-चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन — ‘for bodily purification’ (प्रयोजन)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya didactic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shrine setting where offerings include a vessel of surā and a meat dish placed as naivedya; incense rises; the devotee takes a small portion of curd as prescribed prāśana for bodily purification.

Characters & Entities

• Naivedya
• Surā
• Māṃsa
• Dadhi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic ritual manuals may prescribe context-specific offerings; the stated aim remains purification and disciplined observance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as part of a broader Tīrtha-māhātmya instruction sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offer surā and māṃsa as naivedya, offer dhūpa, and perform dadhi-prāśana for bodily purification.