Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

प्रतिमंत्रं नमस्कुर्यादुदयास्तमये रविम् । अनया नामसप्तत्या महामंत्ररहस्यया

Transliteration

pratimaṃtraṃ namaskuryādudayāstamaye ravim | anayā nāmasaptatyā mahāmaṃtrarahasyayā

Translation

À chaque mantra, qu’on se prosterne devant Ravi au lever et au coucher du soleil ; par cet ensemble de soixante-dix Noms, secret du grand mantra.

Word by Word

• prati-mantram: for each mantra
• prati-mantram: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययम्—‘for each mantra / mantra by mantra’

• namaskuryāt: should salute/bow to
• namaskuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: namas-kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदी; प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• udaya-astamaye: at sunrise and sunset
• udaya-astamaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udaya (प्रातिपदिक) + astamaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; द्वन्द्वः (समाहार/इतरेतर) = ‘at sunrise and sunset’

• ravim: the Sun
• ravim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• anayā: by this
• anayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक: anā/ayam)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; साधन/करण-भावः—‘by/with this’

• nāma-saptatyā: with the seventy names
• nāma-saptatyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + saptati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘नाम-सप्तति’ = set of seventy names

• mahā-mantra-rahasyayā: with the secret of the great mantra
• mahā-mantra-rahasyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + rahasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘महामन्त्र-रहस्या’ = (this) secret of the great mantra (as a formula/teaching)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī sandhyā (Ravi-namaskāra with nāma-saptati)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience seeking Kāśī-dharma and ritual efficacy

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two-part tableau: at sunrise and at sunset on the same ghat, the devotee repeatedly bows with each recited name; the Sun’s color shifts from gold to crimson, marking completion of the cycle.

Characters & Entities

• Ravi (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular worship at the two daily thresholds (sandhyās) anchors dharma through disciplined remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The practice is taught within Kāśī’s sacred narrative setting in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

At sunrise and sunset, offer repeated salutations to the Sun, bowing with each mantra in the seventy-name sequence.