Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

मनो विष्णौ समावेश्य विधाय प्राणसंयमम् । ओंकारोच्चारणाद्धीमान्हृदि पद्मं विकासयन्

Transliteration

mano viṣṇau samāveśya vidhāya prāṇasaṃyamam | oṃkāroccāraṇāddhīmānhṛdi padmaṃ vikāsayan

Translation

ਮਨ ਨੂੰ ਵਿਸ਼ਣੂ ਵਿੱਚ ਟਿਕਾ ਕੇ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਣਾਂ ਦਾ ਸੰਯਮ ਕਰ ਕੇ, ਉਸ ਬੁੱਧਿਮਾਨ ਨੇ ‘ਓਂ’ ਦੇ ਉਚਾਰਣ ਨਾਲ ਹਿਰਦੇ ਦੇ ਕਮਲ ਨੂੰ ਖਿੜਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ।

Word by Word

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• viṣṇau: in Viṣṇu
• viṣṇau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; Masculine, Locative, Singular

• samāveśya: having fixed/entered (it)
• samāveśya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-viś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त), पूर्वकाल; Absolutive (gerund) of √viś with upasargas sam+ā

• vidhāya: having performed
• vidhāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-dhā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययकृदन्त), पूर्वकाल; Absolutive (gerund) of √dhā with upasarga vi

• prāṇa-saṃyamam: restraint of the breath
• prāṇa-saṃyamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारयार्थ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• oṃkāra-uccāraṇāt: from/through the utterance of Oṃkāra
• oṃkāra-uccāraṇāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source/हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक) + uccāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन; Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• dhīmān: the wise one
• dhīmān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• hṛdi: in the heart
• hṛdi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Neuter, Locative, Singular

• padmam: lotus
• padmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• vikāsayan: causing to bloom/opening
• vikāsayan: Karta (Agent-participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-kās (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Present active participle, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā (as outer support) / Hṛdaya-padma (as inner tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The ascetic seated in meditation; a subtle luminous lotus at the heart opens petal by petal with each oṃ; breath depicted as a gentle inner current; Viṣṇu’s presence felt as a calm radiance within.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Oṃkāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Inner worship begins with mind-control and breath-restraint, culminating in Oṃ-centered contemplation that awakens the heart toward Viṣṇu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to Ayodhyā Māhātmya, setting a devotional-yogic frame for Ayodhyā’s sanctity, though this verse itself focuses on inner practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāṇa-saṃyama (breath restraint) and Oṃkāra-uccāraṇa (recitation of Oṃ) as supports for meditation on Viṣṇu.