Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

समायाता महादेवि यज्ञे पैतामहे तदा । पुण्यास्तेऽपि द्विजश्रेष्ठास्तत्रर्त्विजः प्रजज्ञिरे

Transliteration

samāyātā mahādevi yajñe paitāmahe tadā | puṇyāste'pi dvijaśreṣṭhāstatrartvijaḥ prajajñire

Translation

ครั้งนั้น โอ้มหาเทวี พวกเขามาชุมนุมเพื่อยัญพิธีไพตามหะ และ ณ ที่นั้น พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐผู้มีบุญเหล่านั้นได้เป็นฤตวิช คือปุโรหิตผู้ประกอบยัญพิธี

Word by Word

• samāyātāḥ: having arrived / came
• samāyātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त/भूतकर्मणि-प्रायः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; √yā (to go) with उपसर्ग sam+ā

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādevī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: mahā + devī

• yajñe: in the sacrifice
• yajñe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• paitāmahe: of Pitāmaha (Brahmā), ancestral
• paitāmahe: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (yajñe इति)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• puṇyāḥ: pious
• puṇyāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ इति)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ: the best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: dvijānām śreṣṭhāḥ

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

• ṛtvijaḥ: priests (ṛtviks)
• ṛtvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛtvij (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• prajajñire: were born / came into being
• prajajñire: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√jan (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद; pra-उपसर्ग

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; traditionally Sūta addressing sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa yajña-sthāna (Paitāmaha-yajña locus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn gathering: meritorious brāhmaṇas take their places as ṛtvijas around the altar for the Paitāmaha yajña; the goddess is addressed as witness.

Characters & Entities

• Paitāmaha Yajña
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Dvija
• Ṛtvij

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through properly appointed ṛtvijas—ritual efficacy depends on purity, qualification, and right participation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as the setting of the Paitāmaha yajña, with the nearby sanctity of Puṣkara Tīrtha in the same narrative flow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Appointment/appearance of ṛtvijas (officiating priests) for the Paitāmaha yajña.