Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

धर्मप्रियोचितात्मा च सविता वायुवाहनः । आदित्योऽक्रोधनः सूर्यो रश्मिमाली विभावसुः

Transliteration

dharmapriyocitātmā ca savitā vāyuvāhanaḥ | ādityo'krodhanaḥ sūryo raśmimālī vibhāvasuḥ

Translation

هو مُحبٌّ للدارما، ذو طبيعةٍ لائقةٍ نبيلة؛ سافيتْرُ الراكبُ على الريح؛ آديتيا منزَّهٌ عن الغضب؛ سوريا مُتوَّجٌ بإكليل الأشعة—فيبهافاسو، المتلألئ.

Word by Word

• dharmapriyaḥ: lover of dharma
• dharmapriyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (dharme priyaḥ / dharmasya priyaḥ)

• ucitātmā: one of proper nature
• ucitātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ucita (कृदन्त; √uc (धातु) + kta, 'proper') + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (ucitaḥ ātmā yasya / ucita-ātmā)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• savitā: Savitar; the Sun
• savitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: savitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ऋ-प्रातिपदिक (savitṛ) का प्रथमा एकवचन रूप

• vāyuvāhanaḥ: whose vehicle is the wind
• vāyuvāhanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक; √vah (धातु) + lyuṭ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (vāyoḥ vāhanaḥ)

• ādityaḥ: Āditya; the Sun
• ādityaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• akrodhanaḥ: free from anger
• akrodhanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (निषेध) + krodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग-निषेध (not angry)

• sūryaḥ: the Sun
• sūryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• raśmimālī: garlanded with rays
• raśmimālī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raśmi (प्रातिपदिक) + mālin (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (raśmīnāṃ mālī)

• vibhāvasuḥ: Vibhāvasu (radiant one)
• vibhāvasuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhāvasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उ-प्रातिपदिक (vibhāvasu) का प्रथमा एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (devotee) reciting Sūrya’s epithets

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūrya as a calm, wrathless deity, crowned with rays, riding a wind-borne chariot; the atmosphere is dawn—soft light, devotees offering arghya at a riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Savitṛ
• Āditya
• Sūrya
• Vibhāvasu
• Vāyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Sun is upheld as a dharma-aligned divinity—pure, restrained, and radiant—inviting devotees to cultivate ethical steadiness and clarity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Kāmarūpa setting where Sūrya’s praise supports the site’s sacred prestige.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No separate ritual is stated; the verse is part of Sūrya nāma-stuti used for japa, praise, and contemplation.