Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तेनैव यजता तत्र को हीष्टः प्रब्रवीहि नः । ऋत्विजः के स्थितास्तत्र यैस्तत्कर्म मखोद्भवम् । तत्प्रत्यक्षे कृतं सर्वमेतन्नः कौतुकं परम्

Transliteration

tenaiva yajatā tatra ko hīṣṭaḥ prabravīhi naḥ | ṛtvijaḥ ke sthitāstatra yaistatkarma makhodbhavam | tatpratyakṣe kṛtaṃ sarvametannaḥ kautukaṃ param

Translation

Khi chính Ngài cử hành tế lễ tại đó, vị thần nào được tôn thờ làm chủ yếu? Xin hãy nói cho chúng tôi. Những vị tư tế ṛtvij nào hiện diện ở đó, nhờ họ mà công việc tế tự—phát sinh từ makha (yajña)—được thực hiện? Tất cả đều diễn ra ngay trước mắt họ; đó là điều kỳ diệu lớn nhất của chúng tôi.

Word by Word

• tena: by him/with that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun), Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphatic particle (निश्चय/एवकार)

• yajatā: by the one who was sacrificing
• yajatā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yaj (यज् धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: Present active participle (वर्तमान-कृदन्त, शतृ), Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; qualifying 'tena'

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of place (देशवाचक)

• kaḥ: who?
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात), explanatory/emphatic

• iṣṭaḥ: (was) the sacrificer / the one who performed the sacrifice
• iṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yaj (यज् धातु) + kta (क्त) / iṣṭa (इष्ट)
• Form: Past passive participle (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, क्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective

• prabravīhi: tell (us)
• prabravīhi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + brū (ब्रू धातु)
• Form: Loṭ (imperative/आज्ञार्थ), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person/मध्यम), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada

• naḥ: to us/our
• naḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive/Dative enclitic (षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-समर्थ), Plural sense; here as dative ‘to us’

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

• ke: which/who (plural)?
• ke: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• sthitāḥ: standing/present
• sthitāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; qualifying 'ṛtvijaḥ'

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of place

• yaiḥ: by whom
• yaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun used adjectivally, Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifying 'karma'

• karma: ritual act/deed
• karma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (कर्मन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• makhodbhavam: arising from the sacrifice (makha)
• makhodbhavam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: makha (मख) + udbhava (उद्भव)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa compound; Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifying 'karma'

• tat: that
• tat: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun used adjectivally; component of compound with 'pratyakṣe'

• pratyakṣe: in (their) presence / before their eyes
• pratyakṣe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratyakṣa (प्रत्यक्ष प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (tat + pratyakṣa); Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• kṛtam: done/performed
• kṛtam: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle, Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate with 'sarvam etat'

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (सर्व प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; apposition to 'sarvam'

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural sense

• kautukam: curiosity/wonder
• kautukam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautuka (कौतुक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• param: great/supreme
• param: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (पर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; qualifying 'kautukam'

Speaker

Ṛṣis (sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijapuṅgava-s / brāhmaṇa audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of inquisitive brāhmaṇas in a tīrtha-āśrama asks about the iṣṭa-devatā and the ṛtvij assembly of a famed sacrifice; the atmosphere is charged with wonder at a ‘seen’ miracle.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Iṣṭa-devatā (chiefly worshipped deity)
• Ṛtvij
• Makha (yajña)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True listening seeks specifics—understanding dharma includes knowing the deity-focus, the officiants, and the exact performance of sacred rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The inquiry continues within the same sacred-region narrative (Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and Puṣkara-traya context).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It asks for ritual particulars: chief deity worshipped (iṣṭa), the ṛtvij priests, and how the makha-born rite was executed.