Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

एतैर्मुख्यतमैः सृप्तैः फूरा श्राद्धं विनिर्मितम् । स्वयं पितामहेनैव ततो देवा विनिर्मिताः

Transliteration

etairmukhyatamaiḥ sṛptaiḥ phūrā śrāddhaṃ vinirmitam | svayaṃ pitāmahenaiva tato devā vinirmitāḥ

Translation

Tendo sido devidamente satisfeitos estes principais, estabeleceu-se a forma completa do Śrāddha. Então, pelo próprio Pitāmaha (Brahmā), foram trazidos à existência os demais deuses.

Word by Word

• एतैः: by these
• एतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (करण) बहुवचनम्; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally = 'by/with these'

• मुख्यतमैः: by the most eminent
• मुख्यतमैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुख्यतम (प्रातिपदिक; मुख्य + तमप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्; superlative adjective = 'by the most eminent'

• सृप्तैः: with the sṛpta-ones (crept/caused to creep)
• सृप्तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सृप्त (कृदन्त; √सृप् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) = 'having been made to creep/crept' (contextual epithet)

• फूरा: Phūrā (name)
• फूरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फूरा (प्रातिपदिक; नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; proper/common noun (context-specific)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; object of action

• विनिर्मितम्: was made/constructed
• विनिर्मितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विनिर्मित (कृदन्त; वि-निर्-√मा (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त used predicatively = 'was constructed/produced' (agreeing with श्राद्धम्)

• स्वयम्: personally
• स्वयम्: Sambandha/Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic adverb = 'personally/by oneself'

• पितामहेन: by Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• पितामहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; 'by the grandfather/Grandfather (Brahmā)'

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (restrictive particle)

• ततः: thereupon/from that
• ततः: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/तत्-प्रभव (ablatival adverb) = 'thereupon/from that'

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्

• विनिर्मिताः: were made/created
• विनिर्मिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विनिर्मित (कृदन्त; वि-निर्-√मा (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त used predicatively = 'were created' (agreeing with देवाः)

Speaker

Narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa (contextual: Śrāddha-kalpa exposition)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā presides as the archetypal lawgiver; the rite of Śrāddha appears as a structured mandala—first Viśvedevāḥ gratified, then other devas manifest in tiers, indicating ritual completeness.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Deva
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is portrayed as a primordial, divinely instituted rite—its authority is cosmic, not merely social.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This cosmogonic framing appears within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya section, linking place-based devotion with ancestral duty.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The rite is to be performed by first gratifying the foremost divine recipients (contextually the Viśvedevās), completing Śrāddha in its proper form.