Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तमस्तोमहरः सूर्यो नार्चि तो वै मया क्वचित् । महामाया जगद्धात्री न ध्याता भवबंधहृत्

Transliteration

tamastomaharaḥ sūryo nārci to vai mayā kvacit | mahāmāyā jagaddhātrī na dhyātā bhavabaṃdhahṛt

Translation

Die Sonne, die Scharen von Dunkelheit vertreibt, habe ich zu keiner Zeit verehrt; und Mahāmāyā, die Mutter, die die Welten trägt und die Fesseln des Werdens löst, habe ich nicht in Meditation bedacht.

Word by Word

• तमस्तोमहरः: remover of masses of darkness
• तमस्तोमहरः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् + स्तोम + हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘तमसां स्तोमं हरति’/‘तमस्तोमस्य हरः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

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

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• अर्चितः: worshipped
• अर्चितः: Karma (Object affected/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• वै: certainly
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (certainly)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्वचित्: ever/at any time
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Adverbial locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/काल-अनिश्चितार्थक-अव्यय (at any time/anywhere)

• महामाया: Mahāmāyā (Great Illusion/Divine Power)
• महामाया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘महती माया’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जगद्धात्री: sustainer of the world
• जगद्धात्री: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जगत् + धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘जगतः धात्री’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• ध्याता: meditated upon
• ध्याता: Karma (Object affected/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय; ‘ध्यात’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावः (one who has been meditated upon)

• भवबंधहृत्: remover of the bondage of worldly existence
• भवबंधहृत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भव + बन्ध + हृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘भवस्य बन्धं हरति’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa default dialogue frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā-ghāṭas of Kāśī (general)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sunrise over the Gaṅgā; a devotee stands in shallow water offering arghya, while a luminous Mahāmāyā form is envisioned above—maternal, world-supporting, cutting a chain symbolizing bhava-bandha.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Mahāmāyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular worship and contemplation—of Sūrya as dispeller of darkness and of the Goddess as liberator—are upheld as essential disciplines for clarity and freedom from saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Kāśī), but this verse focuses on universal upāsanā (Sun-worship and Goddess-meditation) rather than a named tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana of Sūrya and dhyāna (meditative remembrance) of Mahāmāyā.