ईश्वर उवाच । केनापराधिता देवाः केन वा मानमर्द्दिताः । मर्त्ये स्वर्गेऽथवा नागे शीघ्रं कथय ताचिरम्
īśvara uvāca | kenāparādhitā devāḥ kena vā mānamardditāḥ | martye svarge'thavā nāge śīghraṃ kathaya tāciram
Īśvara bersabda: “Wahai para dewa, siapakah yang telah menzalimi kamu, atau siapakah yang telah meremukkan keangkuhanmu—di alam manusia, di syurga, atau di kalangan Nāga? Katakan segera; jangan berlengah.”
Śiva (Īśvara)
Listener: Devas
Scene: A celestial court: Īśvara seated in majesty, devas assembled with folded hands; the Lord’s gaze is sharp, questioning, scanning the three realms (earth, heaven, nāga-world) as if mapped in the air.
Divine protection is coupled with discernment: the Lord first seeks the cause, locating the disturbance within the cosmic realms before acting.
The narrative setting remains Śiva’s vicinity (Kailāsa context), though this verse itself focuses on the three realms rather than a tīrtha.
None; it is a dialogic moment establishing cause-and-response within dharmic governance.