Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

किं तस्य बहुभिर्मंत्रैः किं तीर्थैः किं तपोऽध्वरैः । यस्योंनमः शिवायेति मंत्रो हृदयगोचरः

Transliteration

kiṃ tasya bahubhirmaṃtraiḥ kiṃ tīrthaiḥ kiṃ tapo'dhvaraiḥ | yasyoṃnamaḥ śivāyeti maṃtro hṛdayagocaraḥ

Translation

Sesiapa yang mantra ‘Oṃ namaḥ śivāya’ telah meresap ke dalam hati, apakah perlunya banyak mantra lain? Apakah perlunya tirtha (ziarah suci)? Apakah perlunya tapa dan yajña (korban suci)?

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Predicate interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक सर्वनाम

• तस्य: for him/of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• बहुभिः: with many
• बहुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषण—मन्त्रैः

• मन्त्रैः: by mantras
• मन्त्रैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Predicate interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• तीर्थैः: by pilgrimages/sacred places
• तीर्थैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• किम्: what (use)
• किम्: Predicate interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• अध्वरैः: by sacrifices
• अध्वरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (relative pronoun)

• आहोम्: indeed
• आहोम्: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आहोम् (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: निपात (exclamatory/particle)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Predicate nominal (प्रयोगगत)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नमस्कारार्थक

• शिवाय: to Śiva
• शिवाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Quotative marker (इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-समाप्ति सूचक अव्यय

• मन्त्रः: the mantra
• मन्त्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• हृदयगोचरः: accessible to the heart / heart-pervading
• हृदयगोचरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृदय (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—मन्त्रः; समासः—हृदयस्य गोचरः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: Purāṇic narrator in Brahmottara-khaṇḍa (likely Sūta/compilational voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee seated in meditation with the mantra glowing in the heart-lotus; around them fade symbols of many rites—sacrificial fire, pilgrimage paths, multiple mantra-scrolls—indicating their essence absorbed into the heart-mantra.

Characters & Entities

• Oṃ
• Namaḥ Śivāya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When the Śiva-mantra becomes inwardly established, it is portrayed as sufficient compared to external multiplicity of rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised; rather, the verse relativizes tīrtha-travel in comparison to heart-established mantra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Internalization and japa of ‘Oṃ namaḥ śivāya’; other rites are declared non-essential for one so established.