Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

देवा ऊचुः । तवायं तनयो देवि सर्वेषां नः पुरःसरः । प्रथमं पूजिते चास्मिन्पूजा ग्राह्या ततः सुरैः

Transliteration

devā ūcuḥ | tavāyaṃ tanayo devi sarveṣāṃ naḥ puraḥsaraḥ | prathamaṃ pūjite cāsminpūjā grāhyā tataḥ suraiḥ

Translation

诸天说道：“噢，女神啊，你的这位圣子乃我等众神之先导。唯有先礼敬于他，随后诸天方可受礼。”

Word by Word

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Speech act/वचनक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tanayaḥ: son
• tanayaḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying implied group ‘naḥ’)

• naḥ: our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (genitive) बहुवचन/द्वितीया (acc.) बहुवचन—अत्र षष्ठी: ‘our’

• puraḥsaraḥ: leader; one who goes before
• puraḥsaraḥ: Karta (Predicate noun/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puraḥ-sara (प्रातिपदिक; puraḥ + √sṛ (धातु)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास: ‘पुरः सरति’ = ‘one who goes in front’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• prathamam: first
• prathamam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोग (accusative used adverbially): ‘first’

• pūjite: when (he) is worshipped
• pūjite: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन, क्त (past passive participle) नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute): ‘when (he) is worshipped’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

• asmin: in him
• asmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• pūjā: worship
• pūjā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• grāhyā: should be accepted
• grāhyā: Kriya (Predicate necessity/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √grah (धातु)
• Form: यत्/तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण: ‘to be taken/accepted’

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Sequence/क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘thereafter’

• suraiḥ: by the gods
• suraiḥ: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

Devāḥ (the gods)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (Devī-kshetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī; framed for the King as audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas, hands folded, proclaim to Devī that her son is their leader; a youthful Gaṇeśa-like figure (or ‘devī-tanaya’ leader) is shown receiving first worship, with offerings arranged before him.

Characters & Entities

• Devāḥ
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right order in worship (pūjā-krama) matters; honoring the foremost divine principle first harmonizes all subsequent worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Īśānī-śikhara (Īśānī Peak) within the Arbuda region, praised in the Arbuda Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship should be offered first to the Goddess’s son/foremost deity; only then is worship to other gods properly received.