Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

मूलश्रीपतिना देवी प्रोक्ता स्थापय भास्करम् । श्रुत्वा देवोदितं देवी स्थापयामास भास्करम्

Transliteration

mūlaśrīpatinā devī proktā sthāpaya bhāskaram | śrutvā devoditaṃ devī sthāpayāmāsa bhāskaram

Translation

മൂലശ്രീപതി വിഷ്ണു ദേവിയോട്— “ഭാസ്കരനെ (സൂര്യനെ) സ്ഥാപിക്ക” എന്നു അരുളി. ദൈവവചനം കേട്ട് ദേവി ഭാസ്കരനെ വിധിപൂർവ്വം സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• मूलश्रीपतिना: by Mūlaśrīpati
• मूलश्रीपतिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल-श्रीपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मूलस्य श्रीपतिः)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रोक्ता: (was) told / addressed
• प्रोक्ता: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/निष्पन्नार्थे ‘having been told/said’

• स्थापय: install / establish
• स्थापय: Vidhi (Injunction/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच् (causative) ‘cause to be placed’

• भास्करम्: Bhāskara (Sun-image)
• भास्करम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) ‘having heard’

• देवोदितम्: spoken by the god
• देवोदितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव-उदित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवेन उदितम्)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्थापयामास: installed / established
• स्थापयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच् (causative) ‘did install/established’

• भास्करम्: Bhāskara (Sun)
• भास्करम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mūlasthāna-Bhāskara (as established by Devī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied audience—sages/śaunaka-style assembly; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu (Śrīpati) instructs Devī to establish Bhāskara; Devī performs the act of installation on a luminous riverbank, with a solar icon emerging as a consecrated presence.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śrīpati (Viṣṇu)
• Bhāskara (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred installations are framed as acts done in obedience to divine command, linking tīrtha power to divine intention and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is Sūryatīrtha/Mūlasthāna, where Bhāskara is said to have been established.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act of ‘sthāpana’—establishing the Sun-deity (Bhāskara)—is referenced as the foundational sacred act.