Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

शकलीकृत्य बहुशः शिलावत्प्रलयानलम् । नंदी च नंदिषेणश्च सोमनंदी महोदरः

Transliteration

śakalīkṛtya bahuśaḥ śilāvatpralayānalam | naṃdī ca naṃdiṣeṇaśca somanaṃdī mahodaraḥ

Translation

ومرّة بعد مرّة حطّموا نار الفناء، كأنّها ليست إلا حجرًا. وكان هناك أيضًا نَندي (Nandī) ونَنديشيṇa (Nandiṣeṇa) وسومانَندي (Somanandī) وماهودَرا (Mahodara)، قادةٌ أشدّاء بين غَنات شيفا.

Word by Word

• शकलीकृत्य: having broken into pieces
• शकलीकृत्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शकली-कृ (धातु √कृ)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु √कृ; उपपद: शकली (प्रातिपदिक)

• बहुशः: many times; repeatedly
• बहुशः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुशस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Adverb)

• शिलावत्: like a rock/stone
• शिलावत्: Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शिला + वत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Upamā-avyaya: ‘like/as’)

• प्रलय-अनलम्: the fire of dissolution
• प्रलय-अनलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक) + अनल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: प्रलयस्य अनलः

• नन्दी: Nandin
• नन्दी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Conjunction/समुच्चय)

• नन्दिषेणः: Nandiṣeṇa
• नन्दिषेणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि-सेन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: नन्देः सेना (नन्दिषेणा)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Conjunction/समुच्चय)

• सोमनन्दी: Somanandin
• सोमनन्दी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सोमस्य नन्दी

• महोदरः: the big-bellied one
• महोदरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: महत् उदरं यस्य सः

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of formidable gaṇas around a blazing pralaya-fire, striking and shattering it as if it were stone; Nandī and named leaders stand in front of Kāśī’s luminous skyline and a distant Viśvanātha liṅga aura.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (context)
• Śiva (implied)
• Gaṇas
• Nandī
• Nandiṣeṇa
• Somanandī
• Mahodara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as divinely protected—Śiva’s gaṇas are depicted as overpowering even cosmic-scale threats, affirming unwavering refuge in Śiva’s domain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—its sanctity and supernatural guardianship within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is primarily a narrative listing of Śiva’s gaṇa leaders and their might.