Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

अचिन्त्याव्यक्तरूपाय महादेवाय धामने । विद्महे देवदेवाय तन्नो रुद्र नमोनमः

Transliteration

acintyāvyaktarūpāya mahādevāya dhāmane | vidmahe devadevāya tanno rudra namonamaḥ

Translation

نتأمّل مَهَادِيفَا، ذي الصورة التي لا تُدرَك ولا تتجلّى، وهو المأوى الأسمى. نعرف إلهَ الآلهة؛ فلذلك، يا رُودْرَا، لك—مرة بعد مرة—سلامُنا وسجودُنا.

Word by Word

• अचिन्त्याव्यक्तरूपाय: to the one of inconceivable, unmanifest form
• अचिन्त्याव्यक्तरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचिन्त्याव्यक्तरूप (प्रातिपदिक; अचिन्त्य + अव्यक्त + रूप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (विशेषणसमूहः)

• महादेवाय: to Mahādeva
• महादेवाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; शिव-नाम

• धामने: to the abode/splendour
• धामने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; नकारान्त-प्रातिपदिक (धामन्)

• विद्महे: we know
• विद्महे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; अर्थः—‘वयं जानिमः/वेद्मः’

• देवदेवाय: to the god of gods
• देवदेवाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवदेव (प्रातिपदिक; देव + देव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवानां देवः)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तत्’ (that)

• नः: of us / for us
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अस्मद्-प्रयोगः, षष्ठी (Genitive) बहुवचन (enclitic)

• रुद्र: O Rudra
• रुद्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Bhava (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नमः: salutation (again)
• नमः: Bhava (Exclamation/भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति

Speaker

Unnamed devotee/narrator (within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra Śiva-mantra-stuti

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Suvrata/anagha interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditative tableau: a liṅga on a pedestal by the river; above it, an abstract luminous void/halo signifying avyakta; the devotee in seated dhyāna posture; subtle ‘deva-deva’ grandeur without anthropomorphic excess.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva
• Rudra
• Devadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is beyond thought and form; devotion expresses itself through contemplation and repeated salutations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as a Śaiva hymn within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting, broadly tied to the sacred geography of the Revā (Narmadā) region rather than naming a single tirtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, stuti/japa—repeated namaskāra and contemplative remembrance (vidmahe) of Rudra.