Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

उपस्थानं ततः कुर्याच्छाखोक्तविधिना ततः । सहस्रकृत्वो गायत्र्याः शतकृत्वोथवा पुनः

Transliteration

upasthānaṃ tataḥ kuryācchākhoktavidhinā tataḥ | sahasrakṛtvo gāyatryāḥ śatakṛtvothavā punaḥ

Translation

پھر اپنی ویدک شاخا کے بتائے ہوئے طریقے کے مطابق اُپستھان (قیامِ عبادت) کرے؛ اس کے بعد گایتری کا جپ ہزار بار—یا پھر دوبارہ سو بار کرے۔

Word by Word

• upasthānam: the standing-up rite / upasthāna (prayer)
• upasthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upasthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘ततः’ = thereafter/then

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śākhā-ukta-vidhinā: by the procedure stated in one’s śākhā
• śākhā-ukta-vidhinā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śākhā (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त-क्त) + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण (means)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्त क्रियाविशेषण

• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: a thousand times
• sahasra-kṛtvaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-आवृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (times)

• gāyatryāḥ: of the Gāyatrī (mantra)
• gāyatryāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• śata-kṛtvaḥ: a hundred times
• śata-kṛtvaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛtvas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; आवृत्तिवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: athavā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (again/further)

Speaker

Traditional Purāṇic narrator (contextual instruction within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A practitioner stands facing the sun at twilight performing upasthāna with folded hands; beside him a palm-leaf/śākhā text and a teacher indicate lineage; a rosary marks the thousand/ hundred count discipline.

Characters & Entities

• Gāyatrī
• Śākhā (Vedic branch)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular Gāyatrī-japa grounded in one’s Vedic discipline is upheld as a central purifier and stabilizer of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is primarily about nitya-karma (daily rite) rather than a particular pilgrimage geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform upasthāna per one’s śākhā and chant Gāyatrī either 1000 times or 100 times.