Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

देवतास्तत्र तिष्ठंति कोटिकोटिप्रनायकाः । एकैका ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः कलिकालभयाकुलाः

Transliteration

devatāstatra tiṣṭhaṃti koṭikoṭipranāyakāḥ | ekaikā brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ kalikālabhayākulāḥ

Translation

في ذلك الموضع المقدّس تقيم الآلهة—قادةً لعددٍ لا يُحصى من الكرورات. ومع ذلك، يا أفضلَ البراهمة، فإن كُلَّ واحدٍ منهم مضطربٌ خوفًا من أهوال عصر كالي.

Word by Word

• devatāḥ: deities
• devatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (there)

• tiṣṭhanti: stand/abide
• tiṣṭhanti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• koṭi-koṭi-pranāyakāḥ: leaders of crores upon crores
• koṭi-koṭi-pranāyakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-nāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (विशेषण-सम्बन्ध: ‘कोटि-कोटीनां प्रनायकाः’), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural) — ‘devatāḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ekaikāḥ: each individually
• ekaikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka + eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्ववत् पुनरुक्त-समास/युग्म (each one, one by one), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural) — ‘brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhāḥ: best of Brahmins
• brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘ब्राह्मणानां श्रेष्ठाः’), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kali-kāla-bhaya-ākulāḥ: distressed by fear of the Kali age
• kali-kāla-bhaya-ākulāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सम्बन्ध: ‘कलिकालस्य भयेन आकुलाः’), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural) — ‘brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhāḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast deva-assembly in the kṣetra—countless divine leaders—yet their faces show concern; the atmosphere hints at Kali’s shadow beyond the sacred boundary, while the kṣetra itself remains luminous and protective.

Characters & Entities

• Devatāḥ
• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine beings seek refuge in a powerful tīrtha when the age is spiritually difficult; sacred places are portrayed as shelters of dharma in Kali-yuga.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it sets the context for later ritual instructions connected to the kṣetra.