Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

त्रैलोक्यव्यापकं रूपं सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभम् । कृत्वा ननर्त्त भगवान्भासुरं स महानगे

Transliteration

trailokyavyāpakaṃ rūpaṃ sūryakoṭisamaprabham | kṛtvā nanartta bhagavānbhāsuraṃ sa mahānage

Translation

Revêtant une forme qui pénétrait les trois mondes et brillait de l’éclat de dix millions de soleils, le Seigneur Bienheureux dansa—rayonnant—au sein de cette grande cité.

Word by Word

• त्रैलोक्यव्यापकं: pervading the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यव्यापकं: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य + व्यापक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (त्रैलोक्यं व्याप्नोति)

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभम्: having radiance equal to ten million suns
• सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूर्य + कोटि + सम + प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः—सूर्यकोट्या समा प्रभा यस्य

• कृत्वा: having assumed/made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive) = 'having made/assuming'

• ननर्त्त: danced
• ननर्त्त: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नृत् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• भगवान्: the Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भासुरम्: splendid, radiant
• भासुरम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भासुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; (रूपम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महानगे: in the great city
• महानगे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानगर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (महच्च तत् नगरम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahānagara-kṣetra (as designated here)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Lord assumes a form filling the three worlds, blazing like countless suns, and performs a divine dance in a great city as devotees and celestials gather.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavān (Śiva)
• Trailokya (three worlds)
• Mahānagara (great city)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord’s presence sanctifies space: divine radiance and dance symbolize the restoration of dharma and the awakening of devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The line mentions a “great city” (mahānagara) without naming it; the surrounding adhyāya context would specify the tīrtha/city.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on darśana of the Lord’s radiant dance.