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

Dengan perlindungan seorang pengiring yang pantas, dan demi semua para mahātmā itu, Baginda keluar melalui “bukaan Nāgara”, lalu seketika itu juga muncul dari Pātāla.

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.