Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अस्यैवाक्षरमाहात्म्यं नालं वक्तुं चतुर्मुखः । श्रुतयो यत्र सिद्धांतं गताः परमनिर्वृताः

Transliteration

asyaivākṣaramāhātmyaṃ nālaṃ vaktuṃ caturmukhaḥ | śrutayo yatra siddhāṃtaṃ gatāḥ paramanirvṛtāḥ

Translation

حتى براهما ذو الوجوه الأربعة لا يكفي لوصف عظمة هذا المانترا المؤلَّف من حرفٍ واحد وصفًا تامًّا. هناك تبلغ الفيدات غايتها الأخيرة وتستقرّ في السلام الأعلى.

Word by Word

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• अक्षरमाहात्म्यम्: the greatness of the syllable
• अक्षरमाहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक) + माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• अलम्: able / sufficient
• अलम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलम् (अव्यय)
• Form: पर्याप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (indeclinable of sufficiency)

• वक्तुम्: to speak
• वक्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) → वक्तुम् (तुमुन्-प्रत्यय, infinitive)
• Form: कृदन्त (infinitive), तुमुन्; क्रियार्थक

• चतुर्मुखः: the four-faced one (Brahmā)
• चतुर्मुखः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (one who has four faces)

• श्रुतयः: the Vedas
• श्रुतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• सिद्धान्तम्: the established conclusion
• सिद्धान्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• गताः: have reached
• गताः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (क्त-प्रत्यय, past participle)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि/भूतभावे

• परमनिर्वृताः: supremely content / fully at rest
• परमनिर्वृताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्वृत (क्त-प्रत्यय; निर्वृ/निर्वा-धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (past participle used adjectivally)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator in Brahmottara-khaṇḍa (likely Sūta/compilational voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four-faced Brahmā seated on a lotus, scrolls of Veda unfurling and dissolving into a luminous five-syllable mantra; the syllables become a calm ocean of light where sound subsides into silence.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Caturmukha)
• Śruti (Vedas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Śiva-mantra is portrayed as so profound that even Brahmā cannot exhaust its praise; it aligns with the Vedas’ ultimate purport.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No location is specified; the verse glorifies the mantra as the ‘end’ (siddhānta) of Śruti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, reverent engagement with the mantra; no separate rite (snāna/dāna) is stated.