Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

जगद्योनिरहं धाता स्वयंभूरेक ईश्वरः । अनादिमदहं ब्रह्म मामनर्च्य न मु च्यते

Transliteration

jagadyonirahaṃ dhātā svayaṃbhūreka īśvaraḥ | anādimadahaṃ brahma māmanarcya na mu cyate

Translation

„Ich bin der Schoß der Welt; ich bin der Erhalter, der Selbstgeborene, der eine Herr. Ich bin der anfanglose Brahman — ohne mich zu verehren wird niemand befreit.“

Word by Word

• jagat-yoniḥ: the source of the world
• jagat-yoniḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat + yoni (जगत् + योनि प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (योनि), प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (जगतः योनिḥ)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुषवाचक सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dhātā: creator / sustainer
• dhātā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātṛ (धातृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• svayam-bhūḥ: self-born
• svayam-bhūḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svayam + bhū (स्वयम् + भू प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव (स्वयम् भवति)

• ekaḥ: one
• ekaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (एक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• īśvaraḥ: lord
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (ईश्वर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• anādi-mat: beginningless
• anādi-mat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anādi + mat (अनादि + मत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive adjective: ‘having no beginning’)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• brahma: Brahman / Brahmā
• brahma: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचन

• anarcya: without worshipping
• anarcya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: an-√arc (अन्-अर्च् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव; नञ्-पूर्वक (negative gerund): ‘without worshipping’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• mucyate: is liberated
• mucyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (मुच् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (is released)

Speaker

Brahmā (quoted within Skanda’s narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vipra/brāhmaṇa addressee

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā proclaims himself supreme from a lotus seat, while a greater, formless radiance (Maheśvara) looms beyond, indicating the proclamation’s limitation; sages look on with concern.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Brahman
• Liberation (mokṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse exemplifies how māyā can inflate ego even in Brahmā; liberation requires correct object of worship and true realization, not self-assertion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī remains the textual frame (Kāśīkhaṇḍa); the episode sets up the supremacy teaching that grounds Kāśī’s salvific status.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (worship) is mentioned in the claim (‘without worshipping me…’), presented within a narrative context rather than as a direct instruction to the listener.