Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

दिवाकरः समाधिस्थो वडवारूपधारिणीम् । तपश्चरंतीं ददृशे उत्तरेषु कुरुष्वथ

Transliteration

divākaraḥ samādhistho vaḍavārūpadhāriṇīm | tapaścaraṃtīṃ dadṛśe uttareṣu kuruṣvatha

Translation

Der Sonnengott, in tiefe Versenkung eingetreten, erblickte sie im Norden unter den Kurus, wie sie Askese übte und die Gestalt einer Stute angenommen hatte.

Word by Word

• दिवाकरः: Divākara (the Sun)
• दिवाकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवा (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘दिवायाः करः’ (maker of day)

• समाधिस्थः: being in meditation
• समाधिस्थः: Kartṛ (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाधि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; from स्था)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/nominative); एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: ‘समाधौ स्थितः’

• वडवारूपधारिणीम्: (her) who bears the form of a mare
• वडवारूपधारिणीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वडवा (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + धारिणी (प्रातिपदिक; from धृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘वडवारूपं धारयति या’

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma (Object of verbal action in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन; ‘तपः’ (austerity)

• चरन्तीम्: practising, performing
• चरन्तीम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर् (धातु) → चरन्ती (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन

• ददृशे: saw
• ददृशे: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• उत्तरेषु: in the northern (regions)
• उत्तरेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative); बहुवचन

• कुरुषु: among the Kurus (Kuru country)
• कुरुषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative); बहुवचन; जनपदवाचक

• अथ: then, thereafter
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then/now)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttara Kuru (tapas-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūrya, eyes half-closed in samādhi, beholds Saṃjñā in the form of a mare performing fierce austerities in a stark northern landscape—snowy ridges, wind-swept plains, ascetic stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Divākara (Sūrya)
• Saṃjñā (implied)
• Kuru (region/people)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity and concentration (tapas and samādhi) reveal hidden truths; transformation is used for spiritual endurance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the northern Kuru region (Uttara Kuru) as the setting; it is more a mythic sacred geography than a named pilgrimage tīrtha here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual; it highlights tapas (austerity) and samādhi (meditative absorption) as spiritual disciplines.