Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

नमस्त ऋक्स्वरूपाय साम्नां धामग ते नमः । ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय निर्धूततमसे नमः

Transliteration

namasta ṛksvarūpāya sāmnāṃ dhāmaga te namaḥ | jñānaikarūpadehāya nirdhūtatamase namaḥ

Translation

ഋക്-സ്വരൂപനായ നിനക്കു നമസ്കാരം; സാമഗാനങ്ങളുടെ ധാമമായ നിനക്കു നമഃ। ജ്ഞാനമേ ഏകസ്വരൂപദേഹമായവനേ, എല്ലാ തമസ്സും നീക്കിയവനേ, നിനക്കു നമഃ।

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable interjection), नमस्कारार्थे

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम; ‘to you’

• ऋक्स्वरूपाय: to (you) whose form is the Ṛk (hymns)
• ऋक्स्वरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine/used as epithet); ‘ऋचः स्वरूपम् यस्य’ (sense: whose form is Ṛk)

• साम्नाम्: of the Sāmans
• साम्नाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन (Plural), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter)

• धामग: O abode-dweller / O one abiding in (their) splendor
• धामग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धामग (प्रातिपदिक; धामन् + ग (from √गम्) ‘going/abiding’)
• Form: सम्बोधन/प्रथमा-एकवचनवत् (Vocative/Nominative-like), पुंलिङ्ग; विशेषणरूपेण ‘धाम्नि गच्छति/तिष्ठति’

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, नमस्कारार्थे

• ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय: to (you) whose body is of the single form of knowledge
• ज्ञानैकरूपदेहाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; ‘ज्ञानम् एव एकं रूपं देहः यस्य’ (epithet)

• निर्धूततमसे: to (you) who has dispelled darkness
• निर्धूततमसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्धूत (कृदन्त; निर्-√धू (धातु) क्त) + तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; ‘निर्धूतं तमः येन/यस्य’ (darkness-shaken-off)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/Discourse (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, नमस्कारार्थे

Speaker

Nārada (as hymn-reciter to Sūrya/Āditya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Implied) Devī/Umā as addressee of the forthcoming ‘Īśvara uvāca’ frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage (Nārada implied by the surrounding narrative) offers concentrated hymn; the deity is envisioned as Veda-made radiance—Ṛk as luminous script, Sāman as flowing musical waves—darkness receding from the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Āditya
• Ṛk (Ṛgveda)
• Sāman (Sāmaveda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Sun is praised as Veda-embodied knowledge itself; devotion to Āditya is framed as a movement from tamas (ignorance) to illumination.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The hymn is situated within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, indicating that Prabhāsa is a fertile ground for Sūrya-upāsanā and Vedic-style praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Stotra-recitation that identifies the deity with Vedic forms (Ṛk/Sāman) is modeled as a devotional practice.