Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

एतदेव परं ब्रह्म द्वादशाक्षररूपधृक् । मया प्रकाशितं देवि स्कन्दे हि विमलं तव

Transliteration

etadeva paraṃ brahma dvādaśākṣararūpadhṛk | mayā prakāśitaṃ devi skande hi vimalaṃ tava

Translation

Dies selbst ist das höchste Brahman, das die Gestalt des zwölfsilbigen Mantras trägt. O Göttin, ich habe es dir in der Skanda-Überlieferung offenbart—rein und makellos, um deinetwillen.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Neuter pronoun, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• ब्रह्म: Brahman; the Absolute
• ब्रह्म: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• द्वादशाक्षररूपधृक्: bearing the form of the twelve-syllabled (mantra)
• द्वादशाक्षररूपधृक्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश + अक्षर + रूप + धृ (धातु) → धृक् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्तः (धृ धातोः क्विप्), ‘धारयति’ इति (Masculine, Nom, Singular; present participial agent-noun)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karta (Agent, instrumental in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3), एकवचन (1st-person pronoun, Instrumental, Singular)

• प्रकाशितम्: revealed; made known
• प्रकाशितम्: Karma (Object in passive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + काश् (धातु) → प्रकाशित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थः (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; past passive participle)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन (Feminine, Vocative, Singular)

• स्कन्दे: in (the section called) Skanda
• स्कन्दे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (Masculine, Locative, Singular)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Nipāta (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुबोधक/निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• विमलम्: pure; spotless
• विमलम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (2nd-person pronoun, Genitive, Singular)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator reveals to Devī a radiant mantra-form: twelve syllables arranged as a luminous body of Brahman; the scene is suffused with white-gold purity.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Devī
• Para Brahman
• Dvādaśākṣara (twelve-syllable mantra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The mantra is not merely a tool; it is identified with the Supreme Reality itself.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as doctrinal revelation within the tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It authorizes reverent contemplation and use of the dvādaśākṣara as a direct form of Brahman.