Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

दद्यादर्घ्यमनर्घ्याय सवित्रे ध्यानपूर्वकम् । उपमौलि समानीय तत्पात्रं नान्यदृङ्मनाः

Transliteration

dadyādarghyamanarghyāya savitre dhyānapūrvakam | upamauli samānīya tatpātraṃ nānyadṛṅmanāḥ

Translation

Man soll, nach vorausgehender Meditation, Savitṛ das arghya—von unschätzbarem Wert—darbringen; indem man jenes Gefäß bis zum Scheitel erhebt, Blick und Geist auf nichts anderes gerichtet.

Word by Word

• dadyāt: should offer/give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदी; प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• arghyam: arghya (ritual offering)
• arghyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arghya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• anarghyāya: to the priceless one
• anarghyāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anarghya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्प्रदानम्—‘to the priceless one’ (epithet of Savitṛ)

• savitre: to Savitṛ (the Sun)
• savitre: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: savitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• dhyāna-pūrvakam: preceded by meditation
• dhyāna-pūrvakam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् क्रियाविशेषणम्—‘with meditation as the prior (act)’

• upa-mauli: up to the crown of the head
• upa-mauli: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: upa (उपसर्ग) + mauli (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययम्—‘up to the crown of the head’ (near/at the head)

• samānīya: having brought/raised
• samānīya: Kriya (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-nī (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund); ‘having brought/raised (near)’

• tat-pātram: that vessel
• tat-pātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘that vessel’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निषेध (negation particle)

• anya-dṛk-manāḥ: with gaze and mind not elsewhere (undistracted)
• anya-dṛk-manāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛś (धातु-निष्पन्न ‘dṛk’ प्रातिपदिक) + manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः—‘one whose gaze and mind are (towards) something else’; कर्तृ-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sūryārghya in Kāśī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Practitioner/pilgrim

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devotee, eyes steady, lifts the copper arghya vessel to the crown; the Sun’s rays strike the rim; the offering is poised between head and sky, embodying concentration.

Characters & Entities

• Savitṛ (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-pointed attention (ekāgratā) and meditation transform a ritual act into true worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred setting in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa where such worship yields heightened merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditate on Savitṛ, lift the arghya vessel to the crown, and offer with undistracted mind and gaze.