Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

त्वमोंकारो वषट्कारः स्वाहा स्वधा चतुर्विधा । आद्यस्त्वं च सुरेशान त्वमेव शरणं सदा

Transliteration

tvamoṃkāro vaṣaṭkāraḥ svāhā svadhā caturvidhā | ādyastvaṃ ca sureśāna tvameva śaraṇaṃ sadā

Translation

നീയേ ഓംകാരവും, നീയേ വഷട്കാരവും; നീയേ സ്വാഹയും സ്വധയും— ചതുര്വിധരൂപത്തിൽ. ഹേ സുരേശാനേ! നീ ആദി; നീയേ സദാ ശരണം.

Word by Word

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• oṃkāraḥ: (are) the syllable Oṃ
• oṃkāraḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vaṣaṭ-kāraḥ: the Vaṣaṭ exclamation
• vaṣaṭ-kāraḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṣaṭ (अव्यय/मन्त्र-शब्द) + kāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• svāhā: Svāhā (offering-call)
• svāhā: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāhā (प्रातिपदिक/मन्त्र-शब्द)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• svadhā: Svadhā (ancestral offering-call)
• svadhā: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svadhā (प्रातिपदिक/मन्त्र-शब्द)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• catur-vidhā: fourfold
• catur-vidhā: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vidhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the set: svāhā/svadhā etc.)

• ādyaḥ: the first/primordial
• ādyaḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• surā-īśāna: O lord of the gods
• surā-īśāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Avyaya (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle of emphasis)

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Devas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Abstract-sacred tableau: the deity radiates as a luminous Oṃ at the heart of a yajña-maṇḍala; around it appear stylized flames and the syllables vaṣaṭ/svāhā/svadhā as golden script, with devas in reverent silence.

Characters & Entities

• Sureśāna (Supreme Lord)
• Oṃkāra
• Vaṣaṭ
• Svāhā
• Svadhā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is present within mantra and ritual utterance; sacred speech itself becomes a doorway to refuge in God.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No geographical tīrtha is mentioned; the verse glorifies the Lord’s immanence in Vedic ritual.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references core yajña utterances—Oṃ, vaṣaṭ, svāhā, svadhā—implying their sanctity as expressions of the Divine.