Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

उमाकांताय उग्राय नमस्ते ऊर्ध्वरेतसे । एकरूपाय चैकाय महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे

Transliteration

umākāṃtāya ugrāya namaste ūrdhvaretase | ekarūpāya caikāya mahadaiśvaryarūpiṇe

Translation

ഉമാകാന്തനേ നമസ്കാരം; ഉഗ്രനേ, ഊർധ്വരേതസ്സായ (ബ്രഹ്മചര്യ-സംയമ) പ്രഭുവേ നമസ്കാരം. ഏകരൂപനേ, അദ്വിതീയനേ, മഹദൈശ്വര്യസ്വരൂപനായ പരമേശ്വരനേ—നിനക്ക് നമഃ.

Word by Word

• उमाकान्ताय: to the beloved of Umā
• उमाकान्ताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-कान्त (प्रातिपदिक); उमा (प्रातिपदिक) + कान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: उमायाः कान्तः)

• उग्राय: to the fierce one
• उग्राय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Karma (Object of salutation/कर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; नमः-शब्दः (salutation particle)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसे: to the one of upward semen (continent/ascetic)
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक); ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः कर्मधारयः: ऊर्ध्वं रेतः यस्य)

• एकरूपाय: to the one-formed
• एकरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-रूप (प्रातिपदिक); एक (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः कर्मधारयः: एकं रूपं यस्य)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• एकाय: to the one (unique)
• एकाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे: to him whose form is great sovereignty
• महदैश्वर्यरूपिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत्-ऐश्वर्य-रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक); महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + ऐश्वर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; (समासः तत्पुरुषः: महद् ऐश्वर्यं रूपं यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Viśveśvara / Umā-Maheśvara bhāva)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Umā and Śiva as a unified divine presence—Śiva fierce yet controlled, radiating sovereignty; the imagery balances ascetic continence (ūrdhvaretaḥ) with marital divinity (Umākānta), suggesting Ardhanārīśvara undertone without explicit depiction.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Umā (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva unites devotion and yoga: He is Umā’s Lord, the ascetic master of sublimated energy, and the non-dual Supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred locus where Śiva is revered as both householder-with-Umā and the transcendent, one reality granting mokṣa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse implicitly extols brahmacarya/ūrdhvaretas as a yogic discipline supporting Śiva-upāsanā.