Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

नमस्ते देवदेवेश भक्तानामभयप्रद । सर्वतः पाणिपादं ते सर्वतोक्षिशिरोमुखम्

Transliteration

namaste devadeveśa bhaktānāmabhayaprada | sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ te sarvatokṣiśiromukham

Translation

Salut à Toi, Seigneur des seigneurs, dispensateur d’intrépidité aux dévots. Tes mains et tes pieds sont partout ; partout sont tes yeux, tes têtes et tes visages.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayoga (Salutation formula)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विसर्गान्त रूपम् (नमः)

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna/Adhikāra (To you/for you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• देवदेवेश: O Lord of the gods
• देवदेवेश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + देव + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समास: देवानां देवः तस्य ईशः इति (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• भक्तानाम्: of devotees
• भक्तानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• अभयप्रद: O giver of fearlessness
• अभयप्रद: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभय + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समास: अभयम् प्रददाति इति (उपपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयप्राय)

• सर्वतः: everywhere / on all sides
• सर्वतः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb: on all sides/everywhere)

• पाणिपादम्: hands and feet
• पाणिपादम्: Viśeṣya (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि + पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व: पाणयः च पादाः च

• ते: your
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive: your)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वतः: everywhere
• सर्वतः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• अक्षि: eye
• अक्षि: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग); रूपम्: शिरः

• मुखम्: face/mouth
• मुखम्: Samāsa-aṅga (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग)

• सर्वतः-अक्षि-शिरः-मुखम्: having eyes, heads, and faces everywhere
• सर्वतः-अक्षि-शिरः-मुखम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय) + अक्षि + शिरस् + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव: सर्वतः (everywhere) इति पूर्वपदेन समासः; विशेषणम् (ते ... पाणिपादम् इत्यस्य/ते इत्यस्य)

Speaker

A devotee (tīrtha-related narrator context; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Before the Rāmeśvara emblem, the devotee folds hands; behind the liṅga, a cosmic form is suggested—many hands, feet, eyes, heads, and faces radiating into all directions, granting fearlessness.

Characters & Entities

• Devadeveśa (Supreme Lord/Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is all-pervading and grants fearlessness to sincere devotees who take refuge in him.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting, the verse functions as a general stuti supporting tīrtha-worship; the specific site is not named in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a devotional salutation (stuti) emphasizing the deity’s omnipresence.