Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
पुरा देवयुगे राजा कलिंगोनाम दानवः । जरामरणहीनोसौ देवानां च भयंकरः
purā devayuge rājā kaliṃgonāma dānavaḥ | jarāmaraṇahīnosau devānāṃ ca bhayaṃkaraḥ
In an ancient age of the gods, there was a dānava king named Kaliṅga. Free from old age and death, he became a terror even to the gods.
Pulastya
Listener: assembly/king addressed as 'narādhipa' within the episode
Scene: A towering daitya-king Kaliṅga, radiant with unnatural vitality, stands in a darkened cosmic court as devas recoil; the atmosphere is heavy with dread and astonishment.
FAQs
Power without dharma becomes भयङ्कर (terror); Purāṇas frame such imbalance as the trigger for divine restoration.
The narrative belongs to the Arbuda sacred landscape where Devī’s presence becomes the remedy for cosmic distress.
None; this verse sets the historical-mythic context for the māhātmya.