Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

शशिसूर्यारुणा यस्या ललाटे वृषभध्वजः । सरस्वती च हुंकारे सर्वे नागाश्च कंबले

Transliteration

śaśisūryāruṇā yasyā lalāṭe vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | sarasvatī ca huṃkāre sarve nāgāśca kaṃbale

Translation

جس کی پیشانی پر چاند اور سورج کی سرخی مائل روشنی ہے، اور جس پر وृषبھ دھوج والے مہادیو (شیو) کا نشان ہے؛ جس کی گرج میں سرسوتی کا واسو ہے، اور جس کے کمبل میں سب ناگ جمع ہیں—وہی عجیب و غریب دھینو سُرَبھِی ہے۔

Word by Word

• śaśisūryāruṇāḥ: the moon, the sun, and Aruṇa (reddish dawn)
• śaśisūryāruṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśi + sūrya + aruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (शशि-सूर्य-अरुण)

• yasyāḥ: of whom/whose
• yasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (of whom)

• lalāṭe: on the forehead
• lalāṭe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lalāṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण (location)

• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: the one with the bull as his banner (Śiva)
• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृषभस्य ध्वजः)

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• huṃkāre: in the roar/utterance of “huṃ”
• huṃkāre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: huṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying nāgāḥ)

• nāgāḥ: serpents
• nāgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kaṃbale: in the blanket/covering
• kaṃbale: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃbala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Vyāsa continuing the account within the dialogue frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Surabhī (tīrthamayī dhenu)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājan) addressed within the passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Surabhī-cow stands as a cosmic being: moon-and-sun glow on her forehead; a subtle mark of Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva) upon her; Sarasvatī as a luminous presence in her bellow; nāgas coiled like a protective blanket over her body.

Characters & Entities

• Surabhī (Dhenu)
• Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)
• Sarasvatī
• Nāgas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine is immanent in sacred beings: even sound, symbols, and coverings become carriers of deities and cosmic orders.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is primarily a mahimā (praise) of Surabhī within Dharmāraṇya-khaṇḍa rather than naming a specific tīrtha in the line itself.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is prescribed in this verse; it functions as descriptive eulogy.