Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ग्रहाणां तु यथादित्यो नक्षत्राणां यथा शशी । शिरो वा सर्वगात्राणां धर्माणां सत्यमिष्यते

Transliteration

grahāṇāṃ tu yathādityo nakṣatrāṇāṃ yathā śaśī | śiro vā sarvagātrāṇāṃ dharmāṇāṃ satyamiṣyate

Translation

De même que le Soleil est le chef parmi les graha, et la Lune parmi les constellations, et de même que la tête est la première de tous les membres, ainsi la vérité est tenue pour la première de tous les dharma.

Word by Word

• ग्रहाणाम्: of planets
• ग्रहाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Connector (Upamā/यथा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमानवाचक

• आदित्यः: the Sun
• आदित्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नक्षत्राणाम्: of stars/constellations
• नक्षत्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Connector (Upamā/यथा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमानवाचक

• शशी: the Moon
• शशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रातिपदिकरूपम् ‘शशी’ (शशिन्-शब्दः)

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वा: or; and also (emphatic)
• वा: Connector (Option/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive/alternative)

• सर्वगात्राणाम्: of all limbs/bodies
• सर्वगात्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (सर्वाणि गात्राणि)

• धर्माणाम्: of dharmas/virtues
• धर्माणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• इष्यते: is regarded/considered
• इष्यते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √इष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive sense): ‘is considered/accepted’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (implied continuation of address to the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cosmic hierarchy illustration: blazing Sun above, cool Moon amid stars, a stylized human figure with the head highlighted, and a radiant 'SATYA' emblem crowning a dharma-wheel—conveying truth as the governing head-principle.

Characters & Entities

• Āditya (Sun)
• Śaśī (Moon)
• Satya (Truth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Truth (satya) is proclaimed the crown of dharma, just as the sun and head are preeminent in their domains.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in this verse; it supports the māhātmya by establishing a hierarchy of excellence, leading into the tīrtha’s supremacy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal statement about satya as the foremost virtue.