Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

लघुना रक्ष्यमाणेन सर्वेषां च महात्मनाम् । नागरंध्रेण निष्क्रम्य पातालाच्चैव तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

laghunā rakṣyamāṇena sarveṣāṃ ca mahātmanām | nāgaraṃdhreṇa niṣkramya pātālāccaiva tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

शीघ्र रक्षकाच्या संरक्षणाने, सर्व महात्म्यांच्या हितार्थ, तो ‘नागर-रंध्र’ातून बाहेर येऊन पाताळातूनही तत्क्षणी प्रकट झाला।

Word by Word

• लघुना: by/with swift (one)
• लघुना: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लघु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘रक्ष्यमाणेन’ इति विशेषण

• रक्ष्यमाणेन: being protected (by)
• रक्ष्यमाणेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु) + यमान (कर्मणि वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: कर्मणि वर्तमान कृदन्त (present passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन; करणभावे (being protected by)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• महात्मनाम्: of the great-souled ones
• महात्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: महा-आत्मन् (कर्मधारय: ‘महान् आत्मा’); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘सर्वेषाम्’ इति विशेष्य

• नागरंध्रेण: through the city-opening/crevice
• नागरंध्रेण: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्ध्र/अन्ध्र (प्रातिपदिक: छिद्र/विवरार्थे ‘अन्ध्र’)
• Form: समासः: नागर-अन्ध्र (तत्पुरुष: ‘नागरस्य अन्ध्रं/छिद्रम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• निष्क्रम्य: having emerged
• निष्क्रम्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निस्-क्रम् (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having come out)

• पातालात्: from Pātāla (netherworld)
• पातालात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Emphatic modifier/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis: indeed/just)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Kālādhi-kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverbial/कालवाचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तत्-क्षणात् (अव्ययीभाव: ‘तत्क्षणम्’ = immediately); पञ्चमी-प्रयोगे अव्ययवत् (immediately)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nāgarandhra (Nāgara-opening)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic moment: a protected figure emerges instantly from the subterranean realm through a cleft/portal called Nāgarandhra, with astonished sages/brāhmaṇas nearby; the landscape hints at a sacred ford or shrine precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara (implied)
• Pātāla
• Nāgara-andhra (passage/opening)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine presence is not limited by realms; Śiva can manifest instantly for devotees, revealing sacred ‘openings’ in the spiritual geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara’s locale, described with Pātāla and a Nāgara-passage motif, within the Vārāṇasī/Kāśī tīrtha framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse describes the deity’s swift emergence, reinforcing the importance of devotion and darśana.