Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

पूर्वं च मातरः पूज्या गौर्यादिकक्रमेण च । ऋत्विजः पूजयेद्भक्त्या वृद्धिश्राद्धपुरस्सरम्

Transliteration

pūrvaṃ ca mātaraḥ pūjyā gauryādikakrameṇa ca | ṛtvijaḥ pūjayedbhaktyā vṛddhiśrāddhapurassaram

Translation

ആദ്യം ഗൗരീ മുതലായ ക്രമത്തിൽ ദിവ്യ മാതൃദേവിമാരെ പൂജിക്കണം. തുടർന്ന് വൃദ്ധിശ്രാദ്ധം മുൻകൂർ കർമമായി നടത്തി, ഭക്തിയോടെ ഋത്വിജന്മാരെ (പുരോഹിതരെ) ആദരിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• पूर्वम्: first, beforehand
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘पूर्वम्’ = beforehand

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक/Conjunction)

• मातरः: mothers
• मातरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — nominative plural

• पूज्याः: worthy to be worshipped
• पूज्याः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूज्य (कृदन्त; √पूज् (धातु) + यत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विधेयविशेषण (predicate adjective) — ‘to be worshipped’

• गौर्यादिकक्रमेण: in the order beginning with Gaurī
• गौर्यादिकक्रमेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी + आदि + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — instrumental singular; समासः (गौर्यादिक-क्रम) = ‘order beginning with Gaurī’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक/Conjunction)

• ऋत्विजः: priests (ṛtviks)
• ऋत्विजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋत्विज् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — nominative plural

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘should worship’

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — instrumental singular

• वृद्धिश्राद्धपुरस्सरम्: with the vṛddhi-śrāddha as a preliminary rite
• वृद्धिश्राद्धपुरस्सरम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/Qualifier of action)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्धि + श्राद्ध + पुरस्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular; समासः = ‘having vṛddhi-śrāddha as a precursor’ (पूर्वक)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced for Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vrata-performer/audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual sequence: Gaurī and the Mothers are worshipped first; then priests are honored after a vṛddhi-śrāddha, with offerings and respectful gestures.

Characters & Entities

• Mātṛkāḥ (Divine Mothers)
• Gaurī
• Ṛtvij (priests)
• Vṛddhi-śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious rites succeed when begun with reverence to the Divine Mothers and with proper honoring of priests and ancestral preliminaries.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is the broader sacred setting (Ayodhyā-māhātmya), within which this ritual order is prescribed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship the Mothers (starting with Gaurī), perform vṛddhi-śrāddha as a preliminary, and then honor the officiating priests.