Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

नमस्त ऋक्स्वरूपाय साम्नां धामग ते नमः । ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय निर्धूततमसे नमः

Transliteration

namasta ṛksvarūpāya sāmnāṃ dhāmaga te namaḥ | jñānaikarūpadehāya nirdhūtatamase namaḥ

Translation

سلامٌ لكَ يا من صورتُه هي الرِّك (Ṛk)، وسلامٌ لكَ يا مأوى أناشيد السامان (Sāman). سلامٌ لكَ يا من جسدُه جوهرُ المعرفة الواحد، يا من نفضَ عن نفسه كلَّ ظلمة.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable interjection), नमस्कारार्थे

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम; ‘to you’

• ऋक्स्वरूपाय: to (you) whose form is the Ṛk (hymns)
• ऋक्स्वरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine/used as epithet); ‘ऋचः स्वरूपम् यस्य’ (sense: whose form is Ṛk)

• साम्नाम्: of the Sāmans
• साम्नाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (Plural), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter)

• धामग: O abode-dweller / O one abiding in (their) splendor
• धामग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धामग (प्रातिपदिक; धामन् + ग (from √गम्) ‘going/abiding’)
• Form: सम्बोधन/प्रथमा-एकवचनवत् (Vocative/Nominative-like), पुंलिङ्ग; विशेषणरूपेण ‘धाम्नि गच्छति/तिष्ठति’

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, नमस्कारार्थे

• ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय: to (you) whose body is of the single form of knowledge
• ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; ‘ज्ञानम् एव एकं रूपं देहः यस्य’ (epithet)

• निर्धूततमसे: to (you) who has dispelled darkness
• निर्धूततमसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्धूत (कृदन्त; निर्-√धू (धातु) क्त) + तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; ‘निर्धूतं तमः येन/यस्य’ (darkness-shaken-off)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, नमस्कारार्थे

Speaker

Nārada (as hymn-reciter to Sūrya/Āditya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied) Devī/Umā as addressee of the forthcoming ‘Īśvara uvāca’ frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage (Nārada implied by the surrounding narrative) offers concentrated hymn; the deity is envisioned as Veda-made radiance—Ṛk as luminous script, Sāman as flowing musical waves—darkness receding from the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Āditya
• Ṛk (Ṛgveda)
• Sāman (Sāmaveda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Sun is praised as Veda-embodied knowledge itself; devotion to Āditya is framed as a movement from tamas (ignorance) to illumination.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The hymn is situated within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, indicating that Prabhāsa is a fertile ground for Sūrya-upāsanā and Vedic-style praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stotra-recitation that identifies the deity with Vedic forms (Ṛk/Sāman) is modeled as a devotional practice.