Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4
ईश्वर उवाच । पुरा दैत्यगणा रौद्रा बभूवुर्वरवर्णिनि । कालकेया इति ख्यातास्त्रैलोक्योच्छेदकारकाः
īśvara uvāca | purā daityagaṇā raudrā babhūvurvaravarṇini | kālakeyā iti khyātāstrailokyocchedakārakāḥ
Īśvara said: “Long ago, O fair-complexioned one, there arose fierce hosts of Dānavas, famed as the Kālakeyas—destroyers who sought the ruin of the three worlds.”
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
Scene: A dark, tumultuous emergence of Kālakeya hosts—armored, fierce, with weapons—looming over the three worlds; Śiva narrates to Devī, who listens with concern.
FAQs
When adharma becomes violent and world-threatening, divine protection and restoration of cosmic order inevitably arise.
The narrative is situated within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, providing the backstory for later sanctification of places in Prabhāsa.
None in this verse; it introduces the antagonists of the episode.