Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

शव्दब्रह्मेति यत्ख्यातं सर्ववाङ्मयकारणम् । अथोपरिष्टान्नादस्य बिंदुरूपं परात्परम्

Transliteration

śavdabrahmeti yatkhyātaṃ sarvavāṅmayakāraṇam | athopariṣṭānnādasya biṃdurūpaṃ parātparam

Translation

‘ശബ്ദബ്രഹ്മം’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധമായത്—സകല വാക്കിന്റെ കാരണമാകുന്നത്—ആ നാദത്തിന്റെ മീതെ അവൻ പരാത്പരമായ ബിന്ദുരൂപം ദർശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• शब्द-ब्रह्म: Sound-Brahman
• शब्द-ब्रह्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (उद्धृत-नाम); कर्मधारय “शब्दरूपं ब्रह्म”

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — उद्धरणचिह्न (quotative particle)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• ख्यातम्: known (as)
• ख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रियासमाना)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ख्या (धातु) → ख्यात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — “is known/called”

• सर्व-वाङ्मय-कारणम्: cause of all speech/word-manifestation
• सर्व-वाङ्मय-कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + वाङ्मय (प्रातिपदिक) + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष “सर्वस्य वाङ्मयस्य कारणम्”

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अनुक्रमण (then)

• उपरिष्टात्: above
• उपरिष्टात्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरिष्टात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place) “above”

• नादस्य: of sound (nāda)
• नादस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• बिन्दु-रूपम्: the form of a point (bindu)
• बिन्दु-रूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिन्दु (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष “बिन्दोः रूपम्/बिन्दुरूपम्”

• परात्-परम्: supremely transcendent
• परात्-परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष “परात् अपि परम्” (beyond the beyond)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary hierarchy: Śabda-Brahman as luminous field of letters and speech, above it a flowing nāda-stream, and above that a radiant bindu-point, transcendent and still.

Characters & Entities

• Śabda-Brahman
• Nāda
• Bindu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All language arises from Śabda-Brahman, and beyond manifest sound (nāda) lies the seed-point (bindu) of the Absolute.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the implied sacred setting where mantra-metaphysics and liberation knowledge are exalted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse supports mantra contemplation by explaining its metaphysical source.