Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

नागा दैत्याश्च पाताले त्रिधैतत्परिकल्पितम् । ऐकैकं सप्तधाभूय ततस्तेन प्रकल्पितम्

Transliteration

nāgā daityāśca pātāle tridhaitatparikalpitam | aikaikaṃ saptadhābhūya tatastena prakalpitam

Translation

In Pātāla, der Unterwelt, wohnen die Nāgas und die Daityas; dieser Bereich wird als dreifach gedacht. Dann wird jede dieser Abteilungen siebenfach—so ist es geordnet worden.

Word by Word

• nāgāḥ: nāgas (serpents)
• nāgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• daityāḥ: daityas (demons)
• daityāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

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

• pātāle: in the netherworld
• pātāle: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• tridhā: in threefold manner
• tridhā: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tridhā (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (in three parts)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• parikalpitam: was arranged/constructed
• parikalpitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-kḷp (धातु) → parikalpita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘was arranged/constructed’

• aikaikam: each (one)
• aikaikam: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) (पुनरुक्त-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण; ‘एक-एकम्’ (distributive: each one)

• saptadhā: sevenfold
• saptadhā: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saptadhā (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (in seven parts)

• bhūya: having become
• bhūya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (धातु) → bhūya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund) अर्थे—‘भूत्वा’ (having become)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक (thereafter)

• tena: by him/that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• prakalpitam: was arranged/ordained
• prakalpitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kḷp (धातु) → prakalpita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे—‘was duly arranged’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pātāla-lokas (generic)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A subterranean jeweled realm: Nāgas with hoods and gem-crowns, Daityas in fortified cities, luminous nāga-maṇis lighting cavernous palaces; schematic threefold then sevenfold divisions hinted as layered caverns.

Characters & Entities

• Nāga
• Daitya
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The universe is portrayed as divinely ordered; even hidden realms like Pātāla have a structured, purposeful arrangement within dhārmic cosmology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is praised in this verse; it functions as cosmographic teaching within the Skanda Purāṇa’s broader sacred-geography framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; the verse is descriptive (cosmological enumeration), not prescriptive (vrata/dāna/snānādi).