Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 34
कोटयस्तु त्रयस्त्रिंशद्देवानां सायुधास्ततः । रक्षार्थं तस्य लिंगस्य तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे व्यवस्थिताः । माघकृष्णचतुर्दश्यां सुसंनद्धाः प्रहारिणः
koṭayastu trayastriṃśaddevānāṃ sāyudhāstataḥ | rakṣārthaṃ tasya liṃgasya tasminkṣetre vyavasthitāḥ | māghakṛṣṇacaturdaśyāṃ susaṃnaddhāḥ prahāriṇaḥ
Alors, trente-trois crores de dieux, armés, prirent place dans ce kṣetra afin de protéger ce Liṅga. Au quatorzième jour de la quinzaine sombre de Māgha, ils se tinrent parfaitement équipés, prêts à frapper.
Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A vast divine army—thirty-three crores—stands armed in protective formation around a central liṅga shrine within the kṣetra; it is Māgha’s kṛṣṇa-caturdaśī night, the air charged, banners and weapons gleaming in lamplight and moonless darkness.
FAQs
A kṣetra’s holiness is portrayed as so vital that the devas themselves stand guard—sacred space and sacred time converge.
The kṣetra of the revered liṅga (Vṛṣanātha context) where the gods assemble for its protection.
The verse highlights Māgha Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī as the key time connected with the liṅga; earlier verses prescribe night worship on this tithi.