Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

आसीत्पूर्वं बृहत्कल्पे जयत्सेनः सुरेश्वरः । त्रैलोक्यस्य समस्तस्य स्वामी दानवदर्पहा

Transliteration

āsītpūrvaṃ bṛhatkalpe jayatsenaḥ sureśvaraḥ | trailokyasya samastasya svāmī dānavadarpahā

Translation

Autrefois, dans le grand kalpa, il y eut un souverain des dieux nommé Jayatsena—maître de l’ensemble des trois mondes, briseur de l’orgueil des asuras.

Word by Word

• आसीत्: was
• आसीत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — “was/existed”

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — “formerly/previously”

• बृहत्कल्पे: in the great aeon
• बृहत्कल्पे: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहत् (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — “in the great kalpa”; कर्मधारय

• जयत्सेनः: Jayatsena
• जयत्सेनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जयत् (प्रातिपदिक) + सेन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — proper name; कर्मधारय “victorious-army”

• सुरेश्वरः: lord of the gods
• सुरेश्वरः: Karta (Appositive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — apposition to जयत्सेनः; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी) “lord of the gods”

• त्रैलोक्यस्य: of the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — “of the three worlds”; द्विगु-समास

• समस्तस्य: entire
• समस्तस्य: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — qualifying त्रैलोक्यस्य “of the entire”

• स्वामी: master
• स्वामी: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — “master/lord”

• दानवदर्पहा: slayer of demons’ pride
• दानवदर्पहा: Karta (Appositive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + दर्प (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) + क्विप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — बहुवचन-सम्बन्धे तत्पुरुष “slayer of the pride of demons”; कृदन्त (हन् + क्विप्) = “-hā”

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dharādhipa (Ānarta/king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic deva-king Jayatsena, radiant and armed, stands as ruler of the three worlds, with subdued demons in the background—an epic tableau introducing the backstory.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Jayatsena
• Sureśvara (lord of gods)
• Trailokya
• Dānava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power and sovereignty are portrayed as dharma-based offices within cosmic order, gained and maintained through right conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None in this verse; it begins a backstory (itihāsa) embedded within the tīrtha-context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.