Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

अक्षरं ब्रह्मपरमं शब्दो वै ह्यरात्मकः । तस्माच्छब्दस्त्वया प्रोक्तो निरीक्षक इति श्रुतम्

Transliteration

akṣaraṃ brahmaparamaṃ śabdo vai hyarātmakaḥ | tasmācchabdastvayā prokto nirīkṣaka iti śrutam

Translation

അക്ഷരമാണ് പരമബ്രഹ്മം; ശബ്ദം അതിന്റെ തന്നെയായ സാരസ്വരൂപം. അതുകൊണ്ട് നിങ്ങൾ ശബ്ദത്തെ ‘നിരീക്ഷകൻ’—തത്ത്വം വെളിപ്പെടുത്തി പരിശോധിക്കുന്നത്—എന്ന് പ്രസ്താവിച്ചതായി ശ്രുതിയിൽ കേൾക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• अक्षरम्: the imperishable / syllable
• अक्षरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मपरमम्: supreme Brahman
• ब्रह्मपरमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (sense: ‘brahma paramam’ / ‘brahmaṇi paramam’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• शब्दः: sound/word
• शब्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (indeed)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Hetu (Reason marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/हेतुवाचक-निपात

• अरात्मकः: having the nature of ‘arā’
• अरात्मकः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अरा (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (sense: ‘arātmakaḥ’ = having the nature of ‘arā’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Reason/therefore)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् इति पञ्चमी-रूपं कारणार्थे (ablative used adverbially: ‘therefore/from that’)

• शब्दः: sound/word
• शब्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karaṇa (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्रोक्तः: was said/declared
• प्रोक्तः: Kriyā (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• निरीक्षकः: an observer/examiner
• निरीक्षकः: Karma-pravacaniya/Predicate nominative
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि + ईक्ष् (धातु) → निरीक्षक (प्रातिपदिक; agent noun)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• इति: thus/‘as’
• इति: Vākyārtha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरण-निपात (quotative)

• श्रुतम्: is heard/has been heard
• श्रुतम्: Kriyā (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु) → श्रुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual interlocutor addressing Śaṃkara/Śiva; Śiva replies from next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva radiates as Akṣara; concentric sound-waves (nāda) emerge as luminous rings that become letters/mantras, then dissolve back into stillness; Yama listens in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Akṣara
• Śabda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sound/word (śabda) is treated as a revelatory principle pointing to the Imperishable Brahman, guiding discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs in Kedārakhaṇḍa (Kedāra region), though this particular line is primarily philosophical rather than site-descriptive.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the focus is on metaphysical understanding of śabda and Brahman.