Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

तथैव द्वादशादित्या भक्तानां भावसाधनाः । प्रातरुत्थाय यः स्नात्वा द्वादशादित्यसंज्ञितम्

Transliteration

tathaiva dvādaśādityā bhaktānāṃ bhāvasādhanāḥ | prātarutthāya yaḥ snātvā dvādaśādityasaṃjñitam

Translation

അതുപോലെ ദ്വാദശ ആദിത്യന്മാർ ഭക്തന്മാരിൽ ഭക്തിഭാവം വളർത്തുന്ന ഉപായങ്ങളാകുന്നു. ആരെങ്കിലും പ്രഭാതത്തിൽ എഴുന്നേറ്റ് സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് ‘ദ്വാദശാദിത്യ’ എന്ന ദേവനെ ദർശിക്കുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ…

Word by Word

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — प्रकारवाचक adverb “thus/likewise”

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अवधारण particle

• dvādaśa-ādityāḥ: the twelve Ādityas
• dvādaśa-ādityāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — nominative plural; द्विगु-समास (द्वादश आदित्याः)

• bhaktānām: of devotees
• bhaktānām: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — genitive plural

• bhāva-sādhanāḥ: means of devotion/inner disposition
• bhāva-sādhanāḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāva (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — nominative plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भावस्य साधनाः)

• prātaḥ: in the morning
• prātaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालवाचक adverb “in the morning”

• utthāya: having risen
• utthāya: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) — “having risen”

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — relative pronoun “who”

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) — “having bathed”

• dvādaśa-āditya-saṃjñitam: that which is called ‘Dvādaśāditya’
• dvādaśa-āditya-saṃjñitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषण; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (द्वादशादित्यस्य संज्ञितम् = “named/known as the twelve Ādityas”)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic speaker, contextually within Revā Khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvādaśāditya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (narśreṣṭha / Mahārāja)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee rises at dawn, bathes, and approaches a radiant Dvādaśāditya icon—twelve sun aspects encircling a central solar lord—hands folded in reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Dvādaśāditya
• Snāna
• Bhakti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily discipline—rising early, bathing, and seeking darśana—refines the heart and stabilizes devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Dvādaśāditya-associated sacred spot within the Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha network is implied, though not named in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prātaḥ-utthāna (rising at dawn), snāna (ritual bath), and Dvādaśāditya-darśana (seeing the deity).