Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । सूर्य आत्मास्य जगतस्तस्थुषस्तमसोरिपुः । उदियायोदयगिरौ शुचिप्रसृमरैः करैः

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | sūrya ātmāsya jagatastasthuṣastamasoripuḥ | udiyāyodayagirau śuciprasṛmaraiḥ karaiḥ

Translation

Vyāsa nói: Mặt Trời—sinh khí của thế gian này, là ātman của muôn loài động và tĩnh, kẻ thù của bóng tối—đã mọc trên núi phương Đông, tỏa lan những tia sáng thanh khiết.

Word by Word

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वक्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘said’

• sūryaḥ: the Sun
• sūryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ātmā: the self
• ātmā: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘self/soul’

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of this/of it’

• jagataḥ: of the world
• jagataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of the world’

• tasthuṣaḥ: of the stationary (beings)
• tasthuṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठī)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; लिट्-कृदन्त (परफेक्ट पार्टिसिपल) ‘of that which stands/abides’

• tamasaḥ: of darkness
• tamasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of darkness’

• ripuḥ: enemy
• ripuḥ: Karta (Predicate noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ripu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘enemy’

• udiyāya: rose
• udiyāya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √i (धातु) + ud- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘rose up’

• udaya-girau: on the sunrise-mountain
• udaya-girau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udaya (प्रातिपदिक) + giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘उदयस्य गिरिः’ → ‘on the mountain of sunrise’

• śuci-prasṛmaraiḥ: with pure, spreading
• śuci-prasṛmaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक) + prasṛmara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘शुचयः प्रसृमराः’ (pure and spreading)

• karaiḥ: rays
• karaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘with rays/hands’ (here: rays)

Speaker

Vyāsa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual dawn over Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Sun rises over a stylized eastern mountain, sending clean, spreading rays across a sacred river city; darkness retreats; pilgrims on ghats prepare for morning rites.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Sūrya
• Udayagiri (eastern mountain)
• Tamas (darkness)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sūrya symbolizes the awakening of dharma and clarity—dispelling tamas and sustaining all beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; ‘Udayagiri’ functions as a cosmological horizon-motif rather than a localized tīrtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse supports the broader dharmic rhythm of day, rites, and sacred time.