Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

सर्वरूपा त्वमीशानि त्वमरूपासि सर्वगे । त्वं चिच्छक्तिर्महामाये त्वं स्वाहा त्वं स्वधामृते

Transliteration

sarvarūpā tvamīśāni tvamarūpāsi sarvage | tvaṃ cicchaktirmahāmāye tvaṃ svāhā tvaṃ svadhāmṛte

Translation

Ô Īśānī, tu revêts toutes les formes et pourtant tu es sans forme, ô Toi qui pénètres tout. Ô grande Māyā, tu es la puissance de la conscience pure ; tu es Svāhā et tu es Svadhā, ô essence immortelle.

Word by Word

• सर्वरूपा: having all forms
• सर्वरूपा: Predicate nominative
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + रूपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (सर्वं रूपं यस्याः)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Pratipādya
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति

• ईशानि: O Īśānī
• ईशानि: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Pratipādya
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति

• अरूपा: formless
• अरूपा: Predicate nominative (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• असि: are
• असि: Kriyā (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• सर्वगे: O all-pervading one
• सर्वगे: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Pratipādya
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति

• चित्शक्तिः: power of consciousness
• चित्शक्तिः: Predicate nominative
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित् + शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (चितः शक्तिः = power of consciousness)

• महामाये: O Great Māyā
• महामाये: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामाया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महती माया)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Pratipādya
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति

• स्वाहा: Svāhā (oblational exclamation/deity)
• स्वाहा: Predicate/apposition (Identification)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोगः)
• Form: मन्त्र-निपातः/हविर्दाने प्रयोग्य अव्यय (ritual exclamation)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Pratipādya
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा-विभक्ति

• स्वधा: Svadhā (ancestral offering exclamation/deity)
• स्वधा: Predicate/apposition (Identification)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वधा (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोगः)
• Form: पितृयज्ञे प्रयोग्य मन्त्र-निपातः (ritual exclamation)

• अमृते: O Amṛtā (immortal nectar/personified)
• अमृते: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī as Īśānī appears half-iconic, half-dissolving into pure light; in the foreground a small sacred fire receives offerings as the syllable ‘svāhā’ rises like flame-script; nearby, water-libations for ancestors shimmer as ‘svadhā’; all merges into a vast all-pervading radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Īśānī
• Mahāmāyā
• Cicchakti
• Svāhā
• Svadhā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devī is both immanent (all forms) and transcendent (formless), and she empowers both Vedic yajña (svāhā) and ancestral rites (svadhā).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa setting frames Kāśī as a place where all rites and realizations are fulfilled through the Goddess’s all-pervading power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly references fire-offerings (svāhā) and pitṛ-offerings (svadhā), indicating Devī as the sanctifying principle behind both.