Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

विद्यावन्तं विपुलमतिदं वेदवेदांगवेद्यं श्रेष्ठं शान्तं शमितविषयं शुद्धतेजोविशालम् । वेदव्यासं सततविनतं विश्ववेद्यैकयोनिं पाराशर्य्यं परमपुरुषं सर्वदाऽहं नमामि

Transliteration

vidyāvantaṃ vipulamatidaṃ vedavedāṃgavedyaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ śāntaṃ śamitaviṣayaṃ śuddhatejoviśālam | vedavyāsaṃ satatavinataṃ viśvavedyaikayoniṃ pārāśaryyaṃ paramapuruṣaṃ sarvadā'haṃ namāmi

Translation

I ever bow to Parāśarya—Veda-Vyāsa—abounding in knowledge and vast in intellect; knowable through the Veda and the Vedāṅgas; supreme and tranquil, with the senses subdued; of pure and expansive radiance; ever-humble, the single source by whom the whole world becomes knowable—indeed the Supreme Person.

Word by Word

• vidyāvantam: learned, possessing knowledge
• vidyāvantam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidyāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine, accusative singular)

• vipula-matim: of vast intellect
• vipula-matim: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipula (प्रातिपदिक) + mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• vedaveda-aṅga-vedyam: knowable through the Vedas and Vedāṅgas
• vedaveda-aṅga-vedyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + veda (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• śreṣṭham: excellent, best
• śreṣṭham: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine, accusative singular)

• śāntam: peaceful
• śāntam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (masculine, accusative singular)

• śamita-viṣayam: one whose sense-objects are subdued
• śamita-viṣayam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śamita (कृदन्त; √śam उपशमे, क्त) + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• śuddha-tejo-viśālam: vast with pure radiance
• śuddha-tejo-viśālam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + viśāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (शुद्धं तेजः यस्य/यत्) इत्यर्थे तत्पुरुष-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• vedavyāsam: Vedavyāsa
• vedavyāsam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संज्ञा, तत्पुरुष-समासः (masculine, accusative singular, proper noun)

• satata-vinatam: ever-humble, always bowed
• satata-vinatam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक) + vinata (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त; √nam, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• viśva-vedya-eka-yonim: the single source knowable to the whole world
• viśva-vedya-eka-yonim: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• pārāśaryyam: son of Parāśara (Vyāsa)
• pārāśaryyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārāśarya (प्रातिपदिक; पराशर-अपत्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संज्ञा (masculine, accusative singular, patronymic)

• parama-puruṣam: the Supreme Person
• parama-puruṣam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (masculine, accusative singular)

• sarvadā: always
• sarvadā: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pronoun, nominative singular)

• namāmi: I bow (salute)
• namāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nam (धातु; नम् प्रणामे)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (present indicative, 1st person singular)

Speaker

Narrator/reciter within Ayodhyāmāhātmya (deductively: a Purāṇic narrator addressing sages)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Tapodhana sages (and implicitly the tradition)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous portrait of Vedavyāsa: serene, radiant, with matted hair and beard, holding palm-leaf manuscript; aura of pure tejas; symbols of Veda (manuscripts, yajñopavīta) around him.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Vedāṅga
• Vedavyāsa
• Parāśara
• Paramapuruṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Begin sacred narration with guru-vandana—honoring Vyāsa as the channel of revealed knowledge and humility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is the section’s focus, but this verse functions as an opening salutation to Vyāsa before the site’s greatness is described.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the implied practice is namaskāra (reverential bow) to the teacher/sage.