Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

पंचब्रह्ममयैर्मंत्रैः पंचाक्षरवपुर्धरैः । अकारपीठिकारूढो नादात्मा यः सदाशिवः

Transliteration

paṃcabrahmamayairmaṃtraiḥ paṃcākṣaravapurdharaiḥ | akārapīṭhikārūḍho nādātmā yaḥ sadāśivaḥ

Translation

พระองค์คือสทาศิวะ—ผู้มีสภาวะเป็นนาทะ ประทับเหนือบัลลังก์แห่ง ‘อะ’ ทรงกายเป็นมนต์ปัญจักษร และประกอบด้วยมนต์แห่งปัญจพรหม

Word by Word

• pañca-brahma-mayaiḥ: by/with (mantras) consisting of the five Brahmas
• pañca-brahma-mayaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक) + brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (द्विगु/निर्देशपूर्वक): ‘पञ्चब्रह्ममय’ = ‘consisting of the five Brahmas’; पुंलिङ्गः/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया-बहुवचनम् (Instrumental plural)

• mantraiḥ: with mantras
• mantraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया-बहुवचनम् (Instrumental plural)

• pañca-akṣara-vapuḥ-dharaiḥ: with (mantras) whose form is the five-syllabled (mantra)
• pañca-akṣara-vapuḥ-dharaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣara (प्रातिपदिक) + vapuḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमासः ‘पञ्चाक्षरं वपुः येषाम्’ = ‘whose body/form is the five-syllabled (mantra)’; पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया-बहुवचनम् (Instrumental plural)

• akāra-pīṭhikā-ārūḍhaḥ: mounted on the A-letter pedestal
• akāra-pīṭhikā-ārūḍhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akāra (प्रातिपदिक) + pīṭhikā (प्रातिपदिक) + ārūḍha (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; ā√ruh)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः: ‘अकार-पीठिकायाम् आरूढः’ = ‘mounted on the pedestal of the letter A’; पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative singular); भूतकृदन्तः (क्त) ‘आरूढ’

• nāda-ātmā: whose essence is Nāda (sound)
• nāda-ātmā: Viśeṣya (Appositional subject/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāda (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमासः ‘नादः एव आत्मा’ / ‘नादात्मा’; पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

• sadāśivaḥ: Sadāśiva
• sadāśivaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sadāśiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aruṇācala (Sadāśiva-mantra-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/devotees

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sadāśiva as a luminous, five-faced presence emerging from Arunachala’s fire-heart; the syllables ‘na-maḥ-śi-vā-ya’ form a garland of light around him; a radiant ‘A’ throne supports the deity; waves of sound (nāda) ripple through space as visible concentric rings.

Characters & Entities

• Sadāśiva
• Nāda
• Pañcabrahman
• Pañcākṣarī (Namaḥ Śivāya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra’s greatness is grounded in mantra-theology: Śiva is sound (nāda), mantra-bodied, and the ultimate reality behind sacred speech.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aruṇācala, as the abode/manifestation of Sadāśiva described through mantra and nāda.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied practice: japa and contemplation of the Pañcākṣarī (namaḥ śivāya) and Pañcabrahman mantras.