Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

साक्षात्तपस्यंतमिव तपो धृत्वा नराकृतिम् । निराकृतिं निराकाशं कृत्वा भक्तिं च कांचनम्

Transliteration

sākṣāttapasyaṃtamiva tapo dhṛtvā narākṛtim | nirākṛtiṃ nirākāśaṃ kṛtvā bhaktiṃ ca kāṃcanam

Translation

തപസ്സുതന്നെ മനുഷ്യരൂപം ധരിച്ചു സാക്ഷാൽ തപസ്സു ചെയ്യുന്നതുപോലെ അത് തോന്നി. നിരാകാരവും ആകാശസദൃശവുമായ സർവ്വവ്യാപി തത്ത്വത്തെ സമീപ്യമാക്കി, ഭക്തിയെയും സ്വർണ്ണംപോലെ സാകാരവും സ്പർശ്യവുമായി മാറ്റി.

Word by Word

• साक्षात्: directly/manifestly
• साक्षात्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तपस्यन्तम्: one performing austerity
• तपस्यन्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (धातु: तप्) → तपस्यत् (कृदन्त; शतृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले (present active participle)

• इव: as if/like
• इव: Upamana (Simile-marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• धृत्वा: having assumed/held
• धृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: धृ (धातु) → धृत्वा (कृदन्त; त्वा-प्रत्यय, अव्ययीभावार्थे)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• नराकृतिम्: a human form
• नराकृतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नरस्य आकृतिः)

• निराकृतिम्: formless
• निराकृतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपसर्गपूर्वक-प्रातिपदिक (निराकृतिः = आकृतिरहित/रूपवर्जित)

• निराकाशम्: without space/sky
• निराकाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपसर्गपूर्वक-प्रातिपदिक (आकाशरहित/निर्व्योम)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (कृदन्त; त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• भक्तिम्: devotion
• भक्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• काञ्चनम्: golden
• काञ्चनम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (golden)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic who seems like ‘Tapas’ incarnate; around him, the abstract becomes visible—space-like vastness rendered as a subtle luminous field; devotion appears as a golden sheen, as if bhakti itself has become a tangible ornament.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity and devotion together make the subtle, formless truth approachable in lived religious experience.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions within Dharmāraṇya’s Mahātmya atmosphere rather than naming a specific tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the focus is theological praise of tapas and bhakti.