Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

ओंकार एष एवासावादिवर्णमयात्मकः । मत्स्योदर्युत्तरे कूले नादेशस्त्वहमेव च

Transliteration

oṃkāra eṣa evāsāvādivarṇamayātmakaḥ | matsyodaryuttare kūle nādeśastvahameva ca

Translation

ഇതുതന്നെ ഓംകാരമാണ്; ആദി അക്ഷരമയമായ സ്വഭാവം ഇതിന്. മത്സ്യോദരിയുടെ ഉത്തര തീരത്ത് ഞാനേ ‘നാദേശ’ ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ओंकारः: Oṃkāra (the syllable Oṃ)
• ओंकारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ओंकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एव: alone/indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• असौ: that (yonder)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• आदिवर्णमयात्मकः: whose nature consists of the primordial letters
• आदिवर्णमयात्मकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—‘आदिवर्णैः मयः आत्मकः’ (consisting of the primordial letters)

• मत्स्योदरी: at Matsyodarī
• मत्स्योदरी: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य (प्रातिपदिक) + उदरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन (अधिकरणे); कर्मधारयः—‘मत्स्य-उदरी’ (name of a place/river-bank)

• उत्तरे: on the northern
• उत्तरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with कूले)

• कूले: bank/shore
• कूले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• नादेशः: Nādeśa (a sacred name/place)
• नादेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नादेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (adversative/contrastive particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• एव: alone/indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from first-person ‘aham’ and deity-identification)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nādeśa (on Matsyodarī north bank)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kāśīkhaṇḍa interlocutor(s)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a quiet riverbank, a liṅga named Nādeśa stands with an aura shaped like the Oṃ glyph; sages chant softly as the Matsyodarī flows by.

Characters & Entities

• Oṃkāra
• Matsyodarī
• Nādeśa (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is identified with Oṃ and primordial sound (nāda), and Kāśī’s geography is mapped as a living embodiment of that sacred vibration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Nādeśa on the northern bank of Matsyodarī in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse establishes a mantra–sthāna identity (Oṃkāra and Nādeśa) supporting japa/darśana practice.