Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

जय विश्वैकवेद्येश जय नागेंद्रभूषण । जय गौरीपते शंभो जय चंद्रार्धशेखर

Transliteration

jaya viśvaikavedyeśa jaya nāgeṃdrabhūṣaṇa | jaya gaurīpate śaṃbho jaya caṃdrārdhaśekhara

Translation

Victory to You, O Lord, knowable as the one Reality of the universe! Victory to You, adorned with the king of serpents! Victory to You, O Śambhu, Lord of Gaurī! Victory to You, whose crest bears the half-moon!

Word by Word

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्गार)

• विश्वैकवेद्येश: O lord, the sole knowable (of all)
• विश्वैकवेद्येश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व + एक + वेद्य + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: विश्वस्य एकः वेद्यः ईशः (lord who is the sole knowable of the universe / sole knowable lord)

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्गार)

• नागेन्द्रभूषण: O whose ornament is the serpent-king
• नागेन्द्रभूषण: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागेन्द्र + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक); घटकाः: नाग + इन्द्र + भूषण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: नागेन्द्रः भूषणं यस्य (one whose ornament is the lord of serpents)

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्गार)

• गौरीपते: O husband of Gaurī
• गौरीपते: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: गौर्याः पति (husband of Gaurī)

• शंभो: O Śambhu
• शंभो: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जय: hail!
• जय: Sambodhana (Vocative exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jaya (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्गार)

• चन्द्रार्धशेखर: O wearer of the half-moon crest
• चन्द्रार्धशेखर: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र + अर्ध + शेखर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: चन्द्रस्य अर्धं शेखरः यस्य (whose crest is the half-moon)

Speaker

Devotee/worshipper (stotra)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva appears as Candrārdhaśekhara with a crescent in his matted hair, a great serpent as ornament, standing with Gaurī; devotees chant ‘jaya’ while the liṅga glows behind as the ‘one knowable reality’.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śambhu)
• Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• Nāgendra (serpent-king)
• Candra (Moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is praised as both the highest knowable truth and the personal Lord with sacred iconographic marks that draw the mind to devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is applicable in any Śiva temple context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Devotional invocation through names and forms of Śiva (nāma-stuti).