Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

विष्णवे सत्त्वरूपाय रजोरूपाय वेधसे । तमसे रुद्ररूपाय स्थितिसर्गांतकारिणे

Transliteration

viṣṇave sattvarūpāya rajorūpāya vedhase | tamase rudrarūpāya sthitisargāṃtakāriṇe

Translation

礼敬毗湿奴（Viṣṇu），其相为清净德（Sattva）；礼敬造物主梵天（Brahmā），其相为激发德（Rajas）；礼敬鲁陀罗（Rudra），其相为昏暗德（Tamas）——成就护持、创造与毁灭者。

Word by Word

• विष्णवे: to Viṣṇu
• विष्णवे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• सत्त्व-रूपाय: to (him) whose form is sattva
• सत्त्व-रूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सत्त्वस्य रूपम्)

• रजः-रूपाय: to (him) whose form is rajas
• रजः-रूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस् (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रजसः रूपम्)

• वेधसे: to the Creator (Vedhas)
• वेधसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• तमसे: to tamas (darkness/guṇa)
• तमसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• रुद्र-रूपाय: to (him) whose form is Rudra
• रुद्र-रूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रुद्रस्य रूपम्)

• स्थिति-सर्ग-अन्त-कारिणे: to the doer of preservation, creation, and dissolution
• स्थिति-सर्ग-अन्त-कारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; बहु-षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष-समास (स्थितेः सर्गस्य अन्तस्य च कारी)

Speaker

Devas (gods), offering a hymn (stuti) to Brahmā as the manifest triadic principle

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene cosmic stuti: the triad of deities shown as guṇa-emanations—Viṣṇu luminous and calm (sattva), Brahmā dynamic and creative (rajas), Rudra austere and dissolving (tamas)—all subtly converging into a single supreme radiance above Kāśī’s ghāṭas.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā (Vedhas)
• Rudra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The One Reality is praised through the three functions—creation, preservation, and dissolution—expressed as the guṇas and the Trimūrti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa narrative frame; the broader context glorifies Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the supreme sacred geography, though this particular line is theological rather than site-specific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a hymn of salutation (stuti) suitable for recitation.