Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

एतदक्षरमव्यकममृतं सकलं तव । रूपरूपविष्णुरूपरूपमूर्तिनिवेदितम्

Transliteration

etadakṣaramavyakamamṛtaṃ sakalaṃ tava | rūparūpaviṣṇurūparūpamūrtiniveditam

Translation

Ceci est Ton Impérissable — non manifesté, immortel et total — révélé de forme en forme, par les formes de Viṣṇu et par les innombrables corps sacrés de la manifestation divine.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; pronoun)

• अक्षरम्: the imperishable; syllable
• अक्षरम्: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular)

• अव्यकम्: unmanifest
• अव्यकम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• अमृतम्: immortal; nectar-like
• अमृतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• सकलम्: entire; complete
• सकलम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular; adjective)

• तव: of you; your
• तव: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Genitive, Singular; pronoun)

• रूपरूपविष्णुरूपरूपमूर्तिनिवेदितम्: presented/declared as the form-and-formless, as Viṣṇu, as form-and-formless, as embodiment
• रूपरूपविष्णुरूपरूपमूर्तिनिवेदितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूप + अरूप + विष्णु + रूप + अरूप + मूर्ति + निवेदित (कृदन्त; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘निवेदित’ (√विद्/वेद् ‘to make known, present’ with नि-); समासः—बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (सम्बन्ध-निर्देशः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; verse reads like a hymn/teaching on the unmanifest revealed via divine forms)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tableau where the unmanifest Akṣara is shown as a radiant, formless field; from it emerge multiple divine forms—Viṣṇu’s avatāras and other mūrtis—each pointing back to the same central, deathless light.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is unmanifest and imperishable, yet compassionately becomes knowable through divine forms, especially the forms of Viṣṇu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific place-name appears; the verse is theological, supporting the māhātmya’s emphasis on accessible realization through devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it supports devotional contemplation of divine forms as a means to know the akṣara reality.