Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

गुरुत्वेन तदाकल्य विवस्वानादिकेशवम् । तत्रोपतिष्ठतेद्यापि उत्तरेणादिकेशवात्

Transliteration

gurutvena tadākalya vivasvānādikeśavam | tatropatiṣṭhatedyāpi uttareṇādikeśavāt

Translation

Le reconnaissant, Ādikeśava, comme son supérieur spirituel, Vivasvān, le Soleil, demeure encore aujourd’hui à son service en ce lieu, se tenant au nord d’Ādikeśava.

Word by Word

• गुरुत्वेन: by (his) sense of reverence/weightiness
• गुरुत्वेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरुत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Avyaya (Adverb/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'then')

• आकल्य: having understood
• आकल्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ + कल्/कलय् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund: 'having considered/understood')

• विवस्वान्: Vivasvān (the Sun)
• विवस्वान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवस्वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• आदिकेशवम्: Ādikeśava (a form/place of Keśava)
• आदिकेशवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (आदिः केशवः)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Deshadhikarana (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• उपतिष्ठते: stands near, attends, worships
• उपतिष्ठते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• इद्यापि: even now
• इद्यापि: Avyaya (Adverb/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इदानीम् + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'even now'); रूपम्: इदानीम्→इद्य + अपि

• उत्तरेण: to the north of
• उत्तरेण: Deshadhikarana (Spatial relation/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूतम् (postposition-like indeclinable: 'to the north of'); मूलतः उत्तर-शब्दस्य तृतीया एकवचनम्

• आदिकेशवात्: from Ādikeśava (i.e., north of Ādikeśava)
• आदिकेशवात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदिकेशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa norm)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ādikeśava (Kāśī) and the northern upasthāna of Sūrya

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the Ādikeśava temple precinct in Kāśī, Sūrya stands in perpetual attendance to the north, hands folded, acknowledging Ādikeśava’s guru-status; the temple axis and cardinal direction are visually emphasized.

Characters & Entities

• Vivasvān (Sūrya)
• Ādikeśava (Viṣṇu)
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True greatness is shown through humility—Vivasvān honors Ādikeśava as guru and remains devotedly present.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ādikeśava in Kāśī, with Keśavāditya described as positioned to its north.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upasthāna—reverential attendance/approach to the deity at the specified sacred location.