Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कैवल्यमार्गदीपोऽयमविद्यासिंधुवाडवः । महापातकदावाग्निः सोऽयं मंत्रः षडक्षरः

Transliteration

kaivalyamārgadīpo'yamavidyāsiṃdhuvāḍavaḥ | mahāpātakadāvāgniḥ so'yaṃ maṃtraḥ ṣaḍakṣaraḥ

Translation

This six-syllabled mantra is a lamp upon the path to liberation; it is the submarine fire that dries up the ocean of ignorance; it is the forest-fire that burns away great sins.

Word by Word

• कैवल्यमार्गदीपः: lamp of the path to liberation
• कैवल्यमार्गदीपः: Predicate nominal (विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कैवल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + दीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कैवल्यस्य मार्गः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + मार्गस्य दीपः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अविद्यासिन्धुवाडवः: submarine fire of the ocean of ignorance
• अविद्यासिन्धुवाडवः: Predicate nominal (विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक) + वाडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—अविद्यायाः सिन्धुः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + सिन्धोः वाडवः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); वाडवः = समुद्रमध्यस्थोऽग्निः (submarine fire)

• महापातकदावाग्निः: forest-fire for great sins
• महापातकदावाग्निः: Predicate nominal (विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महापातक (प्रातिपदिक) + दावाग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—महापातकानां दावाग्निः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• सः: that (he/it)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समानाधिकरण

• मन्त्रः: mantra
• मन्त्रः: Predicate nominal (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• षडक्षरः: six-syllabled
• षडक्षरः: Predicate nominal (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator in Brahmottara-khaṇḍa (likely Sūta/compilational voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych allegory: (1) a lamp lighting a narrow path to a shining peak labeled ‘kaivalya’; (2) a vast ocean labeled ‘avidyā’ evaporating from a hidden submarine fire; (3) a dense forest labeled ‘mahāpātaka’ consumed by a controlled sacred blaze shaped like the mantra syllables.

Characters & Entities

• Kaivalya
• Avidyā (ignorance)
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The mantra is celebrated as illuminating liberation, destroying ignorance at its root, and burning away even grave karmic faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the verse uses powerful metaphors to glorify the mantra’s purifying potency.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mantra-japa/uttering of the ṣaḍakṣara mantra is implied as the means for purification and liberation.