Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

हेमन्ते ताम्रवर्णस्तु शिशिरे लोहितो रविः । एवं वर्णविशेषेण ध्यायेत्सूर्यं यथाक्रमम्

Transliteration

hemante tāmravarṇastu śiśire lohito raviḥ | evaṃ varṇaviśeṣeṇa dhyāyetsūryaṃ yathākramam

Translation

In der Hemanta-Zeit meditiere man die Sonne kupferfarben, und in Śiśira den Ravi rot. So soll man Sūrya in diesen besonderen Farbgestalten in der rechten Reihenfolge der Jahreszeiten betrachten.

Word by Word

• हेमन्ते: in winter (hemanta)
• हेमन्ते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कालाधिकरण

• ताम्रवर्णः: copper-colored
• ताम्रवर्णः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ताम्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘ताम्र-वर्ण’ = ‘ताम्रः वर्णः यस्य’ (कर्मधारय, विशेषण)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• शिशिरे: in late winter (śiśira)
• शिशिरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिशिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कालाधिकरण

• लोहितः: reddish
• लोहितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (रवेः)

• रविः: the Sun (Ravi)
• रविः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सूर्यपर्याय

• एवम्: thus, in this way
• एवम्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक), ‘एवम्’ = ‘इस प्रकार’

• वर्णविशेषेण: by the particular color
• वर्णविशेषेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘वर्ण-विशेष’ = ‘वर्णस्य विशेषः’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• ध्यायेत्: should meditate upon
• ध्यायेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सूर्यम्: the Sun
• सूर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यथाक्रमम्: in due order, sequentially
• यथाक्रमम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास, अव्यय; अर्थे ‘क्रमानुसारम्’

Speaker

Narratorial instruction within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (context: Śiva’s teaching continues in this passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/devotees (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Continuation of the seasonal wheel: Hemanta with copper dawn/dusk glow; Śiśira with crisp red sun over cool landscape; a devotee seated facing east, hands in añjali, counting breath with the seasons.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Ravi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes steadier when worship adapts to sacred time-cycles; Sūrya is contemplated through season-appropriate forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented in the Skanda Purana as a foremost sacred landscape for merit-bearing worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seasonal dhyāna: meditate on the Sun with prescribed colors for Hemanta and Śiśira, following the proper sequence.