Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अनलं वाडवेऽग्नौ च भीमं बदरिकाश्रमे । श्रेष्ठे कोटीश्वरं चैव वाराहं विन्ध्यपर्वते

Transliteration

analaṃ vāḍave'gnau ca bhīmaṃ badarikāśrame | śreṣṭhe koṭīśvaraṃ caiva vārāhaṃ vindhyaparvate

Translation

في نار ڤادَڤا هو أَنَلا؛ وفي مَنسَك بادَريكا هو بهيما. وفي شْرِشْثَة هو كوتيشڤرا، وعلى جبل ڤيندْهْيَا هو ڤاراهَ—وهذه هي صور اللِنْغا المشهورة لشِڤا في مقاعدها المقدّسة.

Word by Word

• अनलम्: Anala (fire; name of Śiva/linga)
• अनलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वाडवे: at Vāḍava (submarine fire place)
• वाडवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अग्नौ: in fire / at Agni (place)
• अग्नौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction: and)

• भीमम्: Bhīma (name)
• भीमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बदरिकाश्रमे: at Badarikāśrama
• बदरिकाश्रमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बदरिक + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (बदरिकायाः आश्रमः)

• श्रेष्ठे: at Śreṣṭha (place)
• श्रेष्ठे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (स्थाननामवत्)

• कोटीश्वरम्: Koṭīśvara (lord of crores; name)
• कोटीश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कोटीनाम् ईश्वरः / कोटि-ईश्वरः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed/only)

• वाराहम्: Vārāha (boar-form; name)
• वाराहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विन्ध्यपर्वते: on the Vindhya mountain
• विन्ध्यपर्वते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विन्ध्य + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (विन्ध्यः पर्वतः)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Badarikāśrama; Koṭīśvara (at Śreṣṭha); Vindhya Vārāha-liṅga; Vāḍavānala-Anala

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fourfold cosmic panel: the ocean with hidden submarine fire as a glowing red whirl; Badarikāśrama with snowy peaks and ascetics; a grand Koṭīśvara shrine at ‘Śreṣṭha’; Vindhya hills with a boar-emblem (Vārāha) beside a Śiva-liṅga, suggesting protective power.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vāḍava-agni
• Anala
• Badarikāśrama (Badrināth)
• Bhīma
• Koṭīśvara
• Vindhya
• Vārāha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is praised as present in diverse cosmic and earthly abodes; pilgrimage and remembrance unify these sacred manifestations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Badarikāśrama (Badrināth region) and the Vindhya mountain are explicitly named as seats of Śiva’s liṅga-forms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse contributes to a litany intended for devotional recitation and tīrtha-remembrance.