Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

चित्रभानुरयं साक्षान्नेत्रं त्रिभुवनेशितुः । अंधं तमोमये लोके विनैनं कः प्रकाशकः

Transliteration

citrabhānurayaṃ sākṣānnetraṃ tribhuvaneśituḥ | aṃdhaṃ tamomaye loke vinainaṃ kaḥ prakāśakaḥ

Translation

此灿然之日轮，实为三界之主的眼目。在由黑暗构成的宇宙中，若无他，谁能照明万物？

Word by Word

• citrabhānuḥ: the radiant sun
• citrabhānuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘wonderful/bright’ + ‘sun’)

• ayam: this (one)
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sākṣāt: directly, manifestly
• sākṣāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘directly, in person’

• netram: eye
• netram: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: netra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; here predicate nominative

• tribhuvaneśituḥ: of the lord of the three worlds
• tribhuvaneśituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuvana (प्रातिपदिक) + īśitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: tribhuvanānām īśitā = ‘lord of the three worlds’

• andham: blind, dark
• andham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (for loka)

• tamomaye: filled with darkness
• tamomaye: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘made of darkness’ (tamaso mayaḥ) used as adjective to loke

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha/Upapada (governing relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘without’ (takes accusative)

• enam: him/this (one)
• enam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → enam (प्रातिपदिक-रूप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• prakāśakaḥ: illuminator, one who gives light
• prakāśakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pra + kāś (धातु) + aka (कृत्) → prakāśaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-नाम (‘illuminator’)

Speaker

Gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants), contextually explaining to Śivaśarman

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A blazing sun-disc portrayed as the divine eye of the Lord, casting beams that pierce a darkened cosmos; sages in Kāśī gesture upward, teaching that without this eye nothing is revealed.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (Sun)
• Śiva (Lord of the three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Light is sacred and divine—Sūrya functions as the Lord’s ‘eye,’ making knowledge and right living possible.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is Kāśī in the Skanda Purana’s Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where divine manifestations are described as directly knowable.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse supports devotional reverence toward Sūrya as a divine manifestation.