Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

मयूखमालिनं शंभुरालोक्याति सुनिश्चलम् । समाधि विस्मृतात्मानं विसिस्माय तपः प्रति

Transliteration

mayūkhamālinaṃ śaṃbhurālokyāti suniścalam | samādhi vismṛtātmānaṃ visismāya tapaḥ prati

Translation

Seeing Śambhu, wreathed in rays and standing utterly unmoving, the Sun—self-forgetful in samādhi—marvelled at that austerity.

Word by Word

• मयूखमालिनम्: radiant; having a garland of rays
• मयूखमालिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मयूख-मालिन् (प्रातिपदिक; मयूख + मालिन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (acc. sg. neut.)

• शंभुः: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• आलोक्य: having seen
• आलोक्य: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-लोक् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘having seen/after seeing’

• अति: exceedingly
• अति: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय (intensifier/particle)

• सुनिश्चलम्: very motionless
• सुनिश्चलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-निश्चल (प्रातिपदिक; सु + निश्चल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (acc. sg. neut.)

• समाधि: in samādhi
• समाधि: Sambandha/State (Relation/अवस्था)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; (पाठे ‘समाधि’ इति)

• विस्मृतात्मानम्: one who had forgotten himself
• विस्मृतात्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्मृत-आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; विस्मृत + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (acc. sg. masc.)

• विसिस्माय: marvelled; was astonished
• विसिस्माय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√स्मि (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्सभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (form: तपः)

• प्रति: towards; regarding
• प्रति: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय; ‘towards/with regard to’

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda-to-Agastya context in Kāśī Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Sun beholds Śiva standing utterly motionless, wreathed in rays; the cosmos pauses in reverent astonishment before the Lord’s niścala-samādhi.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Sūrya (Ravi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tapas culminates in samādhi—steady, self-forgetful absorption in Śiva—worthy even of the Sun’s astonishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, where Śiva’s presence is praised as supremely sanctifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes inner discipline—steadiness and samādhi—as the essence of tapas.