Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

त्वमोंकारो वषट्कारः स्वाहा स्वधा चतुर्विधा । आद्यस्त्वं च सुरेशान त्वमेव शरणं सदा

Transliteration

tvamoṃkāro vaṣaṭkāraḥ svāhā svadhā caturvidhā | ādyastvaṃ ca sureśāna tvameva śaraṇaṃ sadā

Translation

آپ ہی اومکار ہیں، آپ ہی وَشَٹکار ہیں؛ آپ ہی سواہا اور سَودھا کے چاروں روپ ہیں۔ آپ ہی ازلی ہیں، اے سُریشان؛ آپ ہی ہمیشہ کی پناہ ہیں۔

Word by Word

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

• oṃkāraḥ: (are) the syllable Oṃ
• oṃkāraḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vaṣaṭ-kāraḥ: the Vaṣaṭ exclamation
• vaṣaṭ-kāraḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṣaṭ (अव्यय/मन्त्र-शब्द) + kāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• svāhā: Svāhā (offering-call)
• svāhā: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāhā (प्रातिपदिक/मन्त्र-शब्द)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• svadhā: Svadhā (ancestral offering-call)
• svadhā: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svadhā (प्रातिपदिक/मन्त्र-शब्द)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• catur-vidhā: fourfold
• catur-vidhā: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vidhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the set: svāhā/svadhā etc.)

• ādyaḥ: the first/primordial
• ādyaḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

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

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• surā-īśāna: O lord of the gods
• surā-īśāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• eva: indeed/alone
• eva: Avyaya (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle of emphasis)

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Pradhana-predicative (Complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Devas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Abstract-sacred tableau: the deity radiates as a luminous Oṃ at the heart of a yajña-maṇḍala; around it appear stylized flames and the syllables vaṣaṭ/svāhā/svadhā as golden script, with devas in reverent silence.

Characters & Entities

• Sureśāna (Supreme Lord)
• Oṃkāra
• Vaṣaṭ
• Svāhā
• Svadhā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is present within mantra and ritual utterance; sacred speech itself becomes a doorway to refuge in God.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No geographical tīrtha is mentioned; the verse glorifies the Lord’s immanence in Vedic ritual.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references core yajña utterances—Oṃ, vaṣaṭ, svāhā, svadhā—implying their sanctity as expressions of the Divine.