Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

यः श्राद्धं नागरं मुक्त्वा ह्यन्यस्मै संप्रदास्यति । विमुखास्तस्य यास्यंति पितरो विबुधैः सह

Transliteration

yaḥ śrāddhaṃ nāgaraṃ muktvā hyanyasmai saṃpradāsyati | vimukhāstasya yāsyaṃti pitaro vibudhaiḥ saha

Translation

ଯେ ଶ୍ରାଦ୍ଧରେ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଧାରିତ ‘ନାଗର’ ପାତ୍ରକୁ ଛାଡ଼ି ଅନ୍ୟକୁ ଦାନ କରେ, ତାହାର ପିତୃଗଣ ଦେବମାନଙ୍କ ସହ ବିମୁଖ ହୋଇ ପ୍ରସ୍ଥାନ କରନ୍ତି।

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• नागरम्: Nāgara-related (prescribed for Nāgaras)
• नागरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (श्राद्धम् इति विशेष्यस्य)

• मुक्त्वा: having abandoned/omitted
• मुक्त्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphatic)

• अन्यस्मै: to another (person)
• अन्यस्मै: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• संप्रदास्यति: will give/hand over
• संप्रदास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विमुखाः: turned away, averse
• विमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (पितरः इति विशेष्यस्य)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• यास्यन्ति: will go away/depart
• यास्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• पितरः: the ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• विबुधैः: with the gods/wise beings
• विबुधैः: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विबुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारी)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गसदृश-अव्यय; सहार्थक (with)

Speaker

Unspecified (same authority figure; śrāddha injunction)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamas / ritual performers in Nāgara context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder at a śrāddha altar hesitates between two recipients; in the subtle realm, pitṛs turn their faces away and withdraw, while devas recede—signaling broken ritual alignment.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Vibudhas (gods)
• Nāgara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha must be performed with fidelity to prescribed recipients and dharmic order; otherwise the pitṛs withdraw their grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a dharma rule embedded in the tīrtha-māhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A śrāddha injunction: do not bypass the rightful (Nāgara) recipient; improper redirection is said to negate ancestral satisfaction.