Shloka 139

Viśokā Dvādaśī Vow, Guḍa-Dhenū (Jaggery-Cow) Gift, and Śaila-Dāna (Mountain-Charity) Rites

Devanagari script

सामवेदस्तु वेदानां महादेवस्तु योगिनां । प्रणवः सर्वमंत्राणां नारीणां पार्वती यथा

Transliteration

sāmavedastu vedānāṃ mahādevastu yogināṃ | praṇavaḥ sarvamaṃtrāṇāṃ nārīṇāṃ pārvatī yathā

Translation

Así como el Sāmaveda es el más excelso de los Vedas, y Mahādeva el más excelso de los yoguis, y el Praṇava (Oṁ) el más excelso de todos los mantras, así también Pārvatī es la más excelsa entre las mujeres.

Word by Word

• sāmavedaḥ: Sāmaveda
• sāmavedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāma + veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• vedānām: of the Vedas
• vedānām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय

• yoginām: of yogins
• yoginām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Gen./6th), बहुवचन

• praṇavaḥ: Praṇava (Oṃ)
• praṇavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• sarva-mantrāṇām: of all mantras
• sarva-mantrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) ‘sarvamantra’ (collective), षष्ठी (Gen./6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• nārīṇām: of women
• nārīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Gen./6th), बहुवचन

• pārvatī: Pārvatī
• pārvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (as/just as)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative verse; speaker not indicated in the provided excerpt)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: sāmavedastu = sāmavedaḥ + tu; mahādevastu = mahādevaḥ + tu; sarvamaṃtrāṇāṃ treated as sarva-mantrāṇām (compound) in sandhi.

Characters & Entities

• Sāmaveda
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Praṇava (Oṁ)
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the main teaching of this verse?

It presents a hierarchy of excellence: Sāmaveda among Vedas, Mahādeva among yogins, Oṁ among mantras, and Pārvatī among women—using well-known exemplars to convey “the foremost of its class.”

Why is Praṇava (Oṁ) called foremost among mantras here?

Praṇava is treated as the seed and summary of sacred sound, invoked as the foundational mantra from which other mantric usages draw their sanctity and power.

How does this verse relate to Śaiva-Śākta devotion within the Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa?

By pairing Mahādeva and Pārvatī with superlative Vedic and mantric symbols, the verse elevates Śiva and Śakti devotion as paradigmatic spiritual ideals within the creation-section’s encyclopedic teaching style.