Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

नमस्ते परमादेवि ब्रह्मयोने नमोनमः । अर्धमात्रेक्षरे चैव तस्यार्धार्धे नमोनमः

Transliteration

namaste paramādevi brahmayone namonamaḥ | ardhamātrekṣare caiva tasyārdhārdhe namonamaḥ

Translation

Ehrerbietung Dir, o höchste Göttin; Ehrerbietung immer wieder Dir, Ursprung Brahmās. Ehrerbietung Dir, die Du die Silbe mit der halben Mātrā bist, und Ehrerbietung jenem feinen „Halben der Hälfte“ in ihr.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), नमस्कारार्थकम्

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचनरूपम् (genitive/dative singular enclitic)

• paramādevi: O supreme Goddess
• paramādevi: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paramā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनम्; कर्मधारय-समासः (परमा देवि = supreme goddess)

• brahmayone: O source/womb of Brahmā
• brahmayone: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), नमस्कारार्थकम्

• namaḥ: salutation again
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), पुनरुक्ति-नमस्कारः (repeated salutation)

• ardhamātre: O half-mātrā (half unit of time/measure)
• ardhamātre: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + mātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (locative singular) / सम्बोधन-एकवचन-प्रयोगेऽपि सम्भवः; अत्र ‘अर्धमात्रे’ इति सम्बोधनवत् (O half-mora)

• akṣare: O imperishable syllable
• akṣare: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनम् / सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (vocative/locative singular); अत्र सम्बोधनार्थः

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Modifier (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-एकवचनम् (genitive singular)

• ardhārdhe: O half of the half
• ardhārdhe: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-एकवचनम् / सप्तमी-एकवचनम्; ‘अर्धस्य अर्धे’ (in/at the half of the half)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), नमस्कारार्थकम्

• namaḥ: salutation again
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात), पुनरुक्ति-नमस्कारः

Speaker

Devāḥ (the gods) — inferred from the stuti sequence

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda Devī-kṣetra (mantra-tattva emphasis)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative stuti scene: devas praise Devī as the source of Brahmā and as the subtle half-mātrā within the imperishable syllable; imagery shifts to cosmic womb, lotus of creation, and a luminous bindu over a silent mantra glyph.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Brahmā
• akṣara (imperishable syllable)
• ardhamātrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is praised as the ultimate source of creation and as the subtlest reality expressed through sacred sound.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda-khaṇḍa setting where Devī’s manifestation and praise are narrated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mantra-oriented reverence: contemplating the akṣara and its subtle mātrā as a form of Devī-upāsanā.