Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

एतदीशान दैतेयैस्त्रैलोक्यं परिपीडितम् । कालिकेयैर्महावीर्येस्तस्मात्कार्यो महाहवः । अद्यैव तैः समं देव समासाद्य धरातलम्

Transliteration

etadīśāna daiteyaistrailokyaṃ paripīḍitam | kālikeyairmahāvīryestasmātkāryo mahāhavaḥ | adyaiva taiḥ samaṃ deva samāsādya dharātalam

Translation

ഹേ ഈശാനാ! മഹാവീര്യവാന്മാരായ കാലികേയ ദൈത്യന്മാരാൽ ത്രിലോകങ്ങളും പീഡിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. അതിനാൽ ഒരു മഹായുദ്ധം അനിവാര്യമാണ്. ഹേ ദേവാ! ഇന്നുതന്നെ ഭൂമിയിലെത്തി അവരെ നേരിട്ടാലും.

Word by Word

• etat: this (situation/thing)
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘this’

• īśāna: O Lord (Īśāna)
• īśāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative address

• daiteyaiḥ: by the Daityas (demons)
• daiteyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiteya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental ‘by/with the Daityas’

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; dvigu ‘three worlds’

• paripīḍitam: oppressed, afflicted
• paripīḍitam: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari + pīḍ (धातु) → paripīḍita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; passive participle ‘oppressed’ qualifying trailokyam

• kālikeyaiḥ: by the Kālikeyas
• kālikeyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālikeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental

• mahāvīryaiḥ: (who are) very mighty
• mahāvīryaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; adjective ‘of great valor’ (agreeing with kālikeyaiḥ)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; ablatival adverb ‘therefore/from that’

• kāryaḥ: must be done / should be undertaken
• kāryaḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (Predicative qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective ‘to be done/should be undertaken’

• mahāhavaḥ: a great battle
• mahāhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + hava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; subject/predicate noun ‘great battle’

• adya: today
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय; adverb ‘today’

• eva: indeed, right (now)
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphatic particle ‘indeed/just’

• taiḥ: with them
• taiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with them’

• samam: together
• samam: Sahārtha (Togetherness)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb ‘together/equally’

• deva: O Deva (god)
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative

• samāsādya: having approached
• samāsādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-sad (धातु) → samāsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) ‘having approached/reached’

• dharātalam: the earth’s surface
• dharātalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘surface of the earth’ object of samāsādya

Speaker

Viṣṇu (addressing Śiva/Īśāna) (in Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A messenger-like exhortation to Īśāna: the three worlds depicted as distressed; shadowy Kālikeya daityas looming; the command to meet them on earth ‘today’.

Characters & Entities

• Īśāna (Śiva)
• Viṣṇu
• Daityas
• Kālikeyāḥ/Kāleyāḥ
• Trailokya
• Dharātala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When oppression threatens the worlds, decisive righteous action (dharma-yuddha) becomes necessary to restore balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets the stage for events that later become tied to sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a call to immediate divine intervention through battle.