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

Selbst der viergesichtige Brahmā vermag die Größe dieses Silben-Mantras nicht vollständig zu schildern. Dort gelangen die Veden zu ihrem letzten Abschluss und ruhen in höchstem Frieden.

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.