Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

यतोऽस्माभिः श्रुता वार्ता कीर्त्यमाना पुरातनी । विष्णुना तस्य राजर्षेः प्रेतश्राद्धसमुद्भवा

Transliteration

yato'smābhiḥ śrutā vārtā kīrtyamānā purātanī | viṣṇunā tasya rājarṣeḥ pretaśrāddhasamudbhavā

Translation

因为我们听闻一则古老传说，至今仍被称颂讲述——说是依毗湿奴（Viṣṇu）的旨意，便兴起了那位王圣（rajarṣi）为已成饿鬼（preta）者所行的施祭（śrāddha）之事。

Word by Word

• yataḥ: because/whence
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), सम्बन्धबोधक-कारणार्थक (causal/relative adverb): ‘because/whence’

• asmābhiḥ: by us
• asmābhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, बहुवचन, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), उभयलिङ्ग-प्रयोग (we/us)

• śrutā: heard
• śrutā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śru (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; कर्मणि-भाव (past passive participle): ‘heard’

• vārtā: account/news
• vārtā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārtā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• kīrtyamānā: being narrated
• kīrtyamānā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kīrt (धातु) + yamāna (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय, शानच्/यमान)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे कृदन्त (passive present participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन: ‘being narrated/being praised’

• purātanī: ancient
• purātanī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: purātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; विशेषण

• viṣṇunā: by Viṣṇu
• viṣṇunā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• tasya: of him/of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• rājarṣeḥ: of the royal sage
• rājarṣeḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājarṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• pretaśrāddhasamudbhavā: arising from the funeral śrāddha
• pretaśrāddhasamudbhavā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक) + śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास (preta-śrāddha ‘funeral śrāddha’ + samudbhavā ‘arisen from’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; विशेषण (vārtāyāḥ)

Speaker

Local devotees/hosts (introducing a precedent/story)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāga-tīrtha (contextual; exact name not stated in verse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ / dvijasattamāḥ (addressed audience of brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages recount an ancient, oft-repeated tale: a royal sage’s predicament involving preta-śrāddha arising under Viṣṇu’s ordinance; a narrative ‘opening’ tableau with listeners gathered in a sacred setting.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Rājarṣi
• Preta
• Śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma validates ritual practice through sacred precedent—ancient stories teach how divine order supports śrāddha and ancestral welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha where śrāddha is discussed as particularly consequential for relieving preta-condition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Preta-śrāddha (śrāddha for one in preta-state), framed through an authoritative ancient narrative.