Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

वह्निबीजं सवातं च कूर्मबीजसमन्वितम् । आदित्यप्रभवं बीजं शक्तिबीजोद्भवं सदा

Transliteration

vahnibījaṃ savātaṃ ca kūrmabījasamanvitam | ādityaprabhavaṃ bījaṃ śaktibījodbhavaṃ sadā

Translation

অগ্নি-বীজ বায়ু-তত্ত্বৰ সৈতে কূৰ্ম-বীজেৰে সংযুক্ত হয়। সূৰ্যপ্ৰভৱ বীজ সদায় শক্তি-বীজৰ পৰা উদ্ভূত হৈ প্ৰকাশ পায়।

Word by Word

• वह्निबीजम्: the fire-seed
• वह्निबीजम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वह्नेः बीजम्)

• सवातम्: together with wind
• सवातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘वातेन सह’ = with wind

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• कूर्मबीजसमन्वितम्: endowed with the tortoise-seed
• कूर्मबीजसमन्वितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कूर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √अन्वि/अनु+इ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कूर्मबीजेन समन्वितम्)

• आदित्यप्रभवम्: born from the Sun
• आदित्यप्रभवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (आदित्यतः प्रभवः)

• बीजम्: seed
• बीजम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शक्तिबीजोद्भवम्: arising from the śakti-seed
• शक्तिबीजोद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + बीज (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (शक्तिबीजात् उद्भवः)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kala (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb of time)

Speaker

Śiva (instructional passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva enumerates seeds: a flame glyph (agni), a swirling wind motif (vāyu), a tortoise emblem (kūrma), and a radiant sun-disc (āditya), all emerging from a central Śakti source.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī
• Vahni (Fire)
• Vāta (Wind)
• Kūrma
• Āditya (Sun)
• Śakti-bīja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic mantra teaching links inner sound (bīja) with cosmic forces (fire, wind, sun), showing a sacred correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No explicit tīrtha is praised; the verse is technical and cosmological.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; it implies correct contemplative use of bīja-mantras aligned with elemental contemplation.