Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

दिवाकरः समाधिस्थो वडवारूपधारिणीम् । तपश्चरंतीं ददृशे उत्तरेषु कुरुष्वथ

Transliteration

divākaraḥ samādhistho vaḍavārūpadhāriṇīm | tapaścaraṃtīṃ dadṛśe uttareṣu kuruṣvatha

Translation

พระสุริยเทพเข้าสู่สมาธิอันลึก แล้วทอดพระเนตรนางในแดนเหนือท่ามกลางชาวกุรุ ขณะนางบำเพ็ญตบะโดยทรงรูปเป็นแม่ม้า

Word by Word

• दिवाकरः: Divākara (the Sun)
• दिवाकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवा (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘दिवायाः करः’ (maker of day)

• समाधिस्थः: being in meditation
• समाधिस्थः: Kartṛ (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाधि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक; from स्था)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/nominative); एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: ‘समाधौ स्थितः’

• वडवारूपधारिणीम्: (her) who bears the form of a mare
• वडवारूपधारिणीम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वडवा (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + धारिणी (प्रातिपदिक; from धृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘वडवारूपं धारयति या’

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma (Object of verbal action in compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन; ‘तपः’ (austerity)

• चरन्तीम्: practising, performing
• चरन्तीम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर् (धातु) → चरन्ती (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative); एकवचन

• ददृशे: saw
• ददृशे: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd); एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• उत्तरेषु: in the northern (regions)
• उत्तरेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative); बहुवचन

• कुरुषु: among the Kurus (Kuru country)
• कुरुषु: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative); बहुवचन; जनपदवाचक

• अथ: then, thereafter
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक (then/now)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Uttara Kuru (tapas-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūrya, eyes half-closed in samādhi, beholds Saṃjñā in the form of a mare performing fierce austerities in a stark northern landscape—snowy ridges, wind-swept plains, ascetic stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Divākara (Sūrya)
• Saṃjñā (implied)
• Kuru (region/people)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity and concentration (tapas and samādhi) reveal hidden truths; transformation is used for spiritual endurance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the northern Kuru region (Uttara Kuru) as the setting; it is more a mythic sacred geography than a named pilgrimage tīrtha here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual; it highlights tapas (austerity) and samādhi (meditative absorption) as spiritual disciplines.