Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

उमाकांताय उग्राय नमस्ते ऊर्ध्वरेतसे । एकरूपाय चैकाय महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे

Transliteration

umākāṃtāya ugrāya namaste ūrdhvaretase | ekarūpāya caikāya mahadaiśvaryarūpiṇe

Translation

Verehrung dir, Umākānta, dem Geliebten Umās; Verehrung dir, dem Furchtbaren, dem Herrn erhobener Kraft und vollkommener Enthaltsamkeit. Verehrung dem Einen in einer Gestalt, dem Einzigen ohne Zweiten, dessen Wesen höchste Souveränität und weite herrliche Macht ist.

Word by Word

• उमाकान्ताय: to the beloved of Umā
• उमाकान्ताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-कान्त (प्रातिपदिक); उमा (प्रातिपदिक) + कान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: उमायाः कान्तः)

• उग्राय: to the fierce one
• उग्राय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Karma (Object of salutation/कर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; नमः-शब्दः (salutation particle)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसे: to the one of upward semen (continent/ascetic)
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक); ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः कर्मधारयः: ऊर्ध्वं रेतः यस्य)

• एकरूपाय: to the one-formed
• एकरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-रूप (प्रातिपदिक); एक (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः कर्मधारयः: एकं रूपं यस्य)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• एकाय: to the one (unique)
• एकाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे: to him whose form is great sovereignty
• महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत्-ऐश्वर्य-रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक); महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + ऐश्वर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः तत्पुरुषः: महद् ऐश्वर्यं रूपं यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśvara / Umā-Maheśvara bhāva)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Umā and Śiva as a unified divine presence—Śiva fierce yet controlled, radiating sovereignty; the imagery balances ascetic continence (ūrdhvaretaḥ) with marital divinity (Umākānta), suggesting Ardhanārīśvara undertone without explicit depiction.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Umā (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva unites devotion and yoga: He is Umā’s Lord, the ascetic master of sublimated energy, and the non-dual Supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred locus where Śiva is revered as both householder-with-Umā and the transcendent, one reality granting mokṣa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse implicitly extols brahmacarya/ūrdhvaretas as a yogic discipline supporting Śiva-upāsanā.