Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तेन चाराधितः सूर्यस्तत्रस्थेन द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

tena cārādhitaḥ sūryastatrasthena dvijottamāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! അവിടെ വസിച്ചിരുന്ന ആ വ്യക്തി സൂര്യനെ വിധിപൂർവ്വം ആരാധിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• tena: by him/thereby
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental ‘by him/thereby’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ārādhitaḥ: was worshipped/propitiated
• ārādhitaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-rādh (धातु) → ārādhita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; PPP ‘worshipped/propitiated’ (agreeing with sūryaḥ)

• sūryaḥ: the Sun
• sūryaḥ: Karma (Object of worship in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• tatra-sthena: by the one staying there
• tatra-sthena: Karaṇa (Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tatra (अव्यय) + stha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Avyayībhāva: ‘tatra sthitaḥ’ → instrumental ‘by the one staying there’

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense in context/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Karmadhāraya: ‘uttamāḥ dvijāḥ’ (excellent Brahmins)

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration; addressing sages/brāhmaṇas)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ravi-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija-uttamāḥ (explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disciplined worshipper at dawn offers arghya to the rising Sun near a shrine; the sages are addressed in narration; the setting suggests a tīrtha precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Sūrya
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast worship performed in a sanctified place is emphasized as effective propitiation of the deity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ratnāditya/Sūrya sacred setting within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra in Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana (devotional worship) of Sūrya by a devotee residing at the holy place.