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

Im Vāḍava-Feuer ist er Anala; in der Einsiedelei Badarikā ist er Bhīma. In Śreṣṭha ist er Koṭīśvara, und auf dem Vindhya-Berg ist er Vārāha—dies sind die berühmten Liṅga-Gestalten Śivas an ihren jeweiligen heiligen Sitzen.

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.