Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

रुदित्वा सुचिरं तत्र तैः समं महतीं चिताम् । कृत्वा तां संनिधायाथ प्रदत्तो हव्यवाहनः

Transliteration

ruditvā suciraṃ tatra taiḥ samaṃ mahatīṃ citām | kṛtvā tāṃ saṃnidhāyātha pradatto havyavāhanaḥ

Translation

وہاں میں دیر تک روتا رہا؛ اُن کے ساتھ مل کر میں نے ایک عظیم چتا تیار کی۔ اسے اس پر سجا کر پھر ہویہ وہن، یعنی نذرانوں کو لے جانے والی آگ، روشن کی گئی۔

Word by Word

• रुदित्वा: having wept
• रुदित्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• सुचिरम्: for a long time
• सुचिरम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सुचिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तैः: with them
• तैः: Sahakārī/Sahārtha (Accompaniment; with them)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• समम्: together
• समम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘together/equally’)

• महतīm: great, large
• महतīm: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• चिताम्: funeral pyre
• चिताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• ताम्: that (pyre)
• ताम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• संनिधाय: having placed/arranged (it) properly
• संनिधाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-नि-धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), उपसर्गयुक्त धातु; ‘placing/setting near’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: sequence/then)

• प्रदत्तः: was given/handed over
• प्रदत्तः: Karta (Predicate nominal; ‘was given’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थः (given/handed over)

• हव्यवाहनः: Agni (the carrier of oblations)
• हव्यवाहनः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हव्य + वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (havyasya vāhanaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta (narrative voice describing antyeṣṭi preparation)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mournful cremation scene: companions build a large pyre; the bereaved figure weeps, then kindles Agni; smoke rises into a twilight sky, suggesting the soul’s passage.

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāhana)
• friends (suhṛd)
• the deceased woman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid sorrow, dharma requires proper rites; Agni is invoked as the sacred medium, reflecting ordered conduct in life’s final transitions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cremation procedure is indicated: building a funeral pyre (citā), placing the body, and kindling Agni (Havyavāhana).