Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

उपस्थानं ततः कुर्याच्छाखोक्तविधिना ततः । सहस्रकृत्वो गायत्र्याः शतकृत्वोथवा पुनः

Transliteration

upasthānaṃ tataḥ kuryācchākhoktavidhinā tataḥ | sahasrakṛtvo gāyatryāḥ śatakṛtvothavā punaḥ

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം സ്വന്തം വേദശാഖയിൽ പറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്ന വിധിപ്രകാരം ഉപസ്ഥാനം ചെയ്യണം; പിന്നെ ഗായത്രി ആയിരം പ്രാവശ്യം ജപിക്കണം—അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വീണ്ടും നൂറു പ്രാവശ്യം.

Word by Word

• upasthānam: the standing-up rite / upasthāna (prayer)
• upasthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upasthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘ततः’ = thereafter/then

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śākhā-ukta-vidhinā: by the procedure stated in one’s śākhā
• śākhā-ukta-vidhinā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त-क्त) + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण (means)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्त क्रियाविशेषण

• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: a thousand times
• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-आवृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (times)

• gāyatryāḥ: of the Gāyatrī (mantra)
• gāyatryāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• śata-kṛtvaḥ: a hundred times
• śata-kṛtvaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; आवृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (again/further)

Speaker

Traditional Purāṇic narrator (contextual instruction within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A practitioner stands facing the sun at twilight performing upasthāna with folded hands; beside him a palm-leaf/śākhā text and a teacher indicate lineage; a rosary marks the thousand/ hundred count discipline.

Characters & Entities

• Gāyatrī
• Śākhā (Vedic branch)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular Gāyatrī-japa grounded in one’s Vedic discipline is upheld as a central purifier and stabilizer of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is primarily about nitya-karma (daily rite) rather than a particular pilgrimage geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform upasthāna per one’s śākhā and chant Gāyatrī either 1000 times or 100 times.