Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

संसारकारणाज्ञानमहासंतमसच्छिदे । अचिन्त्यधाम्ने गुह्याय रुद्रायात्युद्विजे नमः

Transliteration

saṃsārakāraṇājñānamahāsaṃtamasacchide | acintyadhāmne guhyāya rudrāyātyudvije namaḥ

Translation

संसाराचे कारण असलेल्या अज्ञानरूपी महान् अंधाराचा छेद करणाऱ्या, अचिंत्य धामधारी गुह्यस्वरूप रुद्राला—ज्याच्या समोर सर्व थरथरतात—माझा नमस्कार असो।

Word by Word

• संसारकारणाज्ञानमहासंतमसच्छिदे: to the cutter of the great darkness of ignorance, the cause of saṃsāra
• संसारकारणाज्ञानमहासंतमसच्छिदे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार-कारण-अज्ञान-महा-सन्तमस्-च्छिद् (प्रातिपदिक; from √छिद् (धातु) ‘to cut’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य कारणं यदज्ञानं तस्य महत् सन्तमः तच्छिनत्ति इति)

• अचिन्त्यधाम्ने: to the one whose abode/splendor is inconceivable
• अचिन्त्यधाम्ने: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचिन्त्य-धामन् (प्रातिपदिक; अचिन्त्य + धामन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (धामन्), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (अचिन्त्यं धाम)

• गुह्याय: to the secret (mysterious) one
• गुह्याय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुह्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (secret/mysterious)

• रुद्राय: to Rudra
• रुद्राय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• अत्युद्विजे: to the greatly awe-inspiring one / to the one causing great trembling
• अत्युद्विजे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अति-उद्विज् (प्रातिपदिक; from √उद्विज् (धातु) ‘to tremble/avoid’; with उपसर्ग अति)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (अत्यन्तं उद्विजते/उद्वेगं करोति इति)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana/भाव (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमः-शब्दः (salutation particle)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced for Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa stuti context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devas (as a group in the narrative frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hymn of reverence: devas or sages with folded hands before a radiant, formless-yet-personal Lord; darkness of ignorance shown as a black veil being split by a shaft of divine light; subtle hint of Rudra aspect within Viṣṇu’s supremacy.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Ajñāna
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation arises when the Lord destroys ignorance, the root of saṃsāra; the Divine is both intimate (secret) and overwhelming (Rudra-like).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā remains the contextual mahātmya setting, presenting the city as conducive to knowledge and release.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the implied practice is contemplative praise aimed at dispelling ignorance.