Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

वैमानिकैः समभ्येत्य स्थापितस्तत्र स द्विजाः । येन स्वर्गार्थिनो लोकाः पूजां तस्य प्रचक्रिरे । प्रथमं सर्वकृत्येषु विघ्ननाशाय तत्पराः

Transliteration

vaimānikaiḥ samabhyetya sthāpitastatra sa dvijāḥ | yena svargārthino lokāḥ pūjāṃ tasya pracakrire | prathamaṃ sarvakṛtyeṣu vighnanāśāya tatparāḥ

Translation

वैमानिक देवांसह येऊन तो तेथे प्रतिष्ठित झाला, हे द्विजहो। म्हणून स्वर्गाची इच्छा करणारे लोक त्याची पूजा करू लागले; सर्व कार्यांच्या आरंभी त्यालाच प्रथम ठेवून, विघ्ननाशासाठी तत्पर राहतात।

Word by Word

• vaimānikaiḥ: by the celestial beings (vimāna-dwellers)
• vaimānikaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaimānika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन — Instrumental plural

• samabhyetya: having approached
• samabhyetya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to verb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-√i (इ; धातु) + abhi (उपसर्ग) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) — ‘having approached’

• sthāpitaḥ: was installed
• sthāpitaḥ: Karma (Object) / Predicative (passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था; धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘was installed/placed’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• saḥ: he/that (deity)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Pronoun nominative singular

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• dvijāḥ: Sambodhyā/Addressed group (contextual)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• yena: by whom/through whom
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• svarga-arthinaḥ: desiring heaven
• svarga-arthinaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + arthin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/उपपद-भावः: ‘svargasya arthī’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural adjective

• lokāḥ: people/worlds (people)
• lokāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — Genitive singular

• pracakrire: they performed
• pracakrire: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kṛ (कृ; धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘they performed’

• prathamam: first
• prathamam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• sarva-kṛtyeṣu: in all rites/acts
• sarva-kṛtyeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘sarvāṇi kṛtyāni’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन — Locative plural

• vighna-nāśāya: for the destruction of obstacles
• vighna-nāśāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vighna (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘vighnānāṃ nāśaḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन — Dative singular (purpose)

• tat-parāḥ: devoted to that (aim)
• tat-parāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘tasmin paraḥ’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural adjective

Speaker

Unspecified narrator addressing dvijāḥ (deduced: a Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (dvijāḥ) addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine installation (pratiṣṭhā) scene: celestial beings attend as a deity is set upon a pedestal; brāhmaṇas chant; devotees approach with offerings, placing the deity first in every rite for obstacle-removal.

Characters & Entities

• Vaimānikāḥ (celestial beings)
• Gaṇeśa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right beginnings require removing impediments; hence Gaṇeśa is honored first to align actions with auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular kṣetra within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya where Gaṇeśa was installed; the excerpt does not name it explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship Gaṇeśa first (prathamaṃ) in all rites and activities for vighna-nāśa (removal of obstacles), especially for those seeking svarga.