Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

फलवेला महाकाली महालक्ष्मीः सरस्वती । ओंकारश्च वषट्कारस्त्वमेव हि सुरेश्वरि

Transliteration

phalavelā mahākālī mahālakṣmīḥ sarasvatī | oṃkāraśca vaṣaṭkārastvameva hi sureśvari

Translation

“Ikaw si Phalavelā; ikaw si Mahākālī, Mahālakṣmī, at Sarasvatī. O Ginang ng mga deva, ikaw lamang ang Oṃkāra at ang panawagang Vaṣaṭ sa paghahandog.”

Word by Word

• phala-velā: Phalavelā (name/epithet)
• phala-velā: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + velā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative; traditional epithet), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahā-kālī: Mahākālī
• mahā-kālī: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahā-lakṣmīḥ: Mahālakṣmī
• mahā-lakṣmīḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• oṃkāraḥ: the syllable Oṃ
• oṃkāraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vaṣaṭkāraḥ: the exclamation ‘vaṣaṭ’
• vaṣaṭkāraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṣaṭkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन

• eva: alone, indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis/only)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Emphasis (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; indeed)

• sureśvari: O Lady of the gods
• sureśvari: Sambodhana (Address/संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sureśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/संबोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Viṣṇu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Phalavelā (Devī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī shown as a unified form with three aspects hinted: fierce Kālī aura, regal Lakṣmī ornaments, Sarasvatī’s veena/book; above her, the syllable Oṃ radiates; in front, a small yajña-kuṇḍa with the vaṣaṭ-call implied by flames.

Characters & Entities

• Mahākālī
• Mahālakṣmī
• Sarasvatī
• Oṃkāra
• Vaṣaṭkāra
• Phalavelā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All divine functions—power, prosperity, knowledge, and even Vedic sound—are unified in the Goddess.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly named; the verse supports the māhātmya by establishing Devī’s all-pervasive sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The mention of vaṣaṭkāra points to yajña language, but no specific ritual procedure is prescribed in this line.