Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39
शिरसा ध्रियते तेजो जीवितं शिरसि स्थितम् । सूर्यः शिरो ह्यमूर्त्तस्य मूर्तस्यापि तथैव च
śirasā dhriyate tejo jīvitaṃ śirasi sthitam | sūryaḥ śiro hyamūrttasya mūrtasyāpi tathaiva ca
L’éclat est porté par la tête ; la vie elle-même demeure dans la tête. Le Soleil est vraiment la « tête » de l’Être sans forme, et de même de l’Être manifesté.
Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)
Type: ghat
Scene: A radiant Sun-disc above, aligned with a cosmic figure whose head glows; below, a pilgrim offers water (arghya) at dawn, linking microcosm and macrocosm.
FAQs
It teaches a Purāṇic vision of the cosmos and the body as sacred, with the Sun as the supreme ‘head’ principle sustaining life and radiance.
This verse is part of a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter, but this particular śloka focuses on cosmological symbolism rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it frames a contemplative doctrine supporting later practices like remembrance and meditation.