Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

एकाक्षरं परं ब्रह्म प्राणायामः परं तपः । गायत्र्यास्तु परं नास्ति पावनं च नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

ekākṣaraṃ paraṃ brahma prāṇāyāmaḥ paraṃ tapaḥ | gāyatryāstu paraṃ nāsti pāvanaṃ ca nṛpottama

Translation

एकाक्षर ‘ॐ’ हे परब्रह्म आहे; प्राणायाम हे परम तप आहे। हे नृपोत्तम, गायत्रीपेक्षा श्रेष्ठ पावन करणारे काहीही नाही।

Word by Word

• eka-akṣaraṃ: the one syllable
• eka-akṣaraṃ: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Head-term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘एकम् अक्षरम्’ (one syllable)

• paraṃ: supreme
• paraṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (supreme)

• brahma: Brahman
• brahma: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• prāṇāyāmaḥ: prāṇāyāma
• prāṇāyāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇāyāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• paraṃ: supreme
• paraṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तपः’ इति विशेषणम्

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• gāyatryāḥ: of Gāyatrī
• gāyatryāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (of Gāyatrī)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोधार्थक-निपात (indeed/but)

• paraṃ: higher / superior
• paraṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पावनम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• asti: exists
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• pāvanaṃ: a purifier / purifying (means)
• pāvanaṃ: Karta/Viśeṣya (Subject/Head-term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पावनम्’ = purifier/purifying (thing)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: ‘and’)

• nṛpa-uttama: O best of kings
• nṛpa-uttama: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; ‘नृपाणाम् उत्तम’ (O best of kings)

Speaker

Unspecified (addressing a king: nṛpottama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gāyatrī (mantra-tīrtha) / Praṇava (eka-akṣara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king respectfully listening to a sage; above them, a luminous Oṃ as cosmic axis; Gāyatrī personified as radiant goddess or as a mantra-wheel; the yogin’s breath shown as subtle light entering and leaving.

Characters & Entities

• Praṇava (Oṃ)
• Brahman
• Gāyatrī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Oṃ, prāṇāyāma, and Gāyatrī are upheld as supreme means of purification and spiritual elevation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the glorification is of mantra and disciplined practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Value and employ praṇava (Oṃ), prāṇāyāma, and Gāyatrī as principal purificatory disciplines.