Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

प्राणायामत्रयं कृत्वा बीजवर्णैः सबिंदुकैः । मातृका न्यस्य विधिवद्ध्यात्वा तां देवतां पराम्

Transliteration

prāṇāyāmatrayaṃ kṛtvā bījavarṇaiḥ sabiṃdukaiḥ | mātṛkā nyasya vidhivaddhyātvā tāṃ devatāṃ parām

Translation

Nachdem man die dreifache Atemlenkung (Prāṇāyāma) vollzogen und die Samen-Silben (bīja) samt ihrem nasalen Bindu verwendet hat, soll man nach Vorschrift die Nyāsa der Mātr̥kā‑Buchstaben am Körper vollziehen; sodann, der Regel gemäß, über die höchste Gottheit meditieren.

Word by Word

• प्राणायामत्रयम्: the three breath-controls
• प्राणायामत्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणायाम + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्राणायामानां त्रयम्)

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having done)

• बीजवर्णैः: with seed-syllables/letters
• बीजवर्णैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (बीजानां वर्णैः)

• सबिंदुकैः: together with bindu(s)
• सबिंदुकैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + बिंदु + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (बिंदुकैः सह = सबिंदुकैः)

• मातृकाम्: the mātṛkā (alphabet/energy-matrix)
• मातृकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• न्यस्य: having placed (nyāsa)
• न्यस्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + अस्/न्यस् (धातु; √अस् with उपसर्ग, ‘to place’ as nyasya)
• Form: ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त-समकक्ष अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having placed/assigning’

• विधिवत्: according to rule
• विधिवत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण), ‘विधिना यथा’

• ध्यात्वा: having meditated
• ध्यात्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having meditated’

• ताम्: that (her)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• देवताम्: the deity
• देवताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (देवताम्)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator in Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin seated in padmāsana performs controlled breathing; luminous Sanskrit letters (Mātr̥kā) and bīja-syllables with bindu appear as glowing points and garlands, settling onto different parts of the body; the heart-lotus begins to radiate as a sanctum for the supreme deity.

Characters & Entities

• Mātr̥kā
• Bīja (seed syllables)
• Devatā (supreme deity)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Inner purification through breath-discipline and mantra-nyāsa prepares the practitioner for steady meditation on the Supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it focuses on ritual preparation and contemplative practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Threefold prāṇāyāma followed by mātṛkā-nyāsa using bīja-varṇas with bindu, culminating in meditation.