Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

आदित्यवर्णो भुवनस्य गोप्ता अपूर्व एष प्रथमः सुराणाम् । हिरण्यगर्भः पुरुषो महात्मा स पठ्यते वै तमसः परस्तात्

Transliteration

ādityavarṇo bhuvanasya goptā apūrva eṣa prathamaḥ surāṇām | hiraṇyagarbhaḥ puruṣo mahātmā sa paṭhyate vai tamasaḥ parastāt

Translation

ఆదిత్యవర్ణుడై, భువనముల రక్షకుడై—అపూర్వుడై, దేవులలో అగ్రగణ్యుడై—ఆయనే హిరణ్యగర్భుడు, మహాత్మ పురుషుడు; ఆయన నిశ్చయంగా తమస్సుకు (అంధకారానికి) అవతల ఉన్నవాడని చెప్పబడెను.

Word by Word

• ādityavarṇaḥ: having the color/lustre of the Sun
• ādityavarṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āditya + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjectival)

• bhuvanasya: of the world
• bhuvanasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• goptā: protector
• goptā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gup (धातु) → goptṛ (प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृवाचक-नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (agent noun)

• apūrvaḥ: unprecedented, unique
• apūrvaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a + pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• eṣaḥ: this (one)
• eṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• prathamaḥ: the first
• prathamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• surāṇām: of the gods
• surāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• hiraṇyagarbhaḥ: Hiraṇyagarbha (the golden-embryo)
• hiraṇyagarbhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hiraṇya + garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संज्ञा/उपाधि

• puruṣaḥ: Person, Being
• puruṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mahātmā: the great-souled one
• mahātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव (great-souled)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paṭhyate: is recited / is read
• paṭhyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/indeed)

• tamasaḥ: from darkness
• tamasaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• parastāt: beyond, on the farther side
• parastāt: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: parastāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place; beyond)

Speaker

Sāmba

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūrya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic vision: Sūrya as the primordial golden embryo and great Puruṣa, radiating beyond a veil of darkness; the worlds are protected within his light.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmba
• Sūrya
• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Puruṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sūrya is contemplated not merely as a planet but as a cosmic principle—protector, first among devas, and the light beyond ignorance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The hymn is situated in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, linking Sūrya devotion with the sanctity of Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; it is a contemplative stotra framing Sūrya in cosmic terms.