Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

यथा स्युर्देवता व्यग्रास्तदाऽस्माकमपि प्रभो कव्यं विना भवेदेषा दशा कष्टा सुरेश्वर

Transliteration

yathā syurdevatā vyagrāstadā'smākamapi prabho kavyaṃ vinā bhavedeṣā daśā kaṣṭā sureśvara

Translation

ดังที่เหล่าเทวะย่อมกระวนกระวาย ฉันใด ข้าแต่พระผู้เป็นเจ้า พวกเราก็ฉันนั้น หากปราศจากกาวยะ (เครื่องบูชาแด่ปิตฤ) สภาพอันทุกข์ยากนี้ย่อมบังเกิด ข้าแต่สุเรศวร

Word by Word

• यथा: as
• यथा: उपमान (Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (as)

• स्युः: might be / would be
• स्युः: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• देवताः: deities
• देवताः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Feminine, Nominative plural)

• व्यग्राः: distressed, agitated
• व्यग्राः: कर्ता-विशेषण (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• तदा: then
• तदा: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (Temporal relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• अस्माकम्: of us
• अस्माकम्: सम्बन्ध (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• अपि: also
• अपि: सम्बन्ध (Additive particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपेक्षार्थ-अव्यय (also/even)

• प्रभो: O lord
• प्रभो: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Vocative singular)

• कव्यं: funeral offering
• कव्यं: अभाव-निमित्त (Thing absent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter Nom/Acc singular)

• विना: without
• विना: अपादान/व्यतिरेक (Exclusion)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादानार्थक-अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश (preposition-like indeclinable): 'without'

• भवेत्: would be
• भवेत्: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एषा: this
• एषा: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

• दशा: condition
• दशा: कर्ता (Apposition to एषा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

• कष्टा: painful
• कष्टा: विधेय-विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

• सुरेश्वर: O lord of the gods
• सुरेश्वर: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सुराणाम् ईश्वरः

Speaker

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of Pitṛs, subtle-bodied and anxious, petition a radiant Sura-īśvara; their hands folded, faces drawn with hunger for kavya; a tīrtha backdrop suggested by water and ritual vessels.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devatās (gods)
• Sureśvara (Lord of gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual reciprocity is a dharmic bond: ancestors depend on kavya, and neglect causes suffering; proper rites restore cosmic harmony.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-māhātmya theme that such rites are especially efficacious at sacred places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kavya (śrāddha offering) is explicitly stated as necessary; its absence leads to hardship for pitṛs.