Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6
सूत उवाच । पुरासीद्बाष्कलिर्नाम दानवेन्द्रो महाबलः । अजेयः सर्वदेवानां गन्धर्वोरगरक्षसाम्
sūta uvāca | purāsīdbāṣkalirnāma dānavendro mahābalaḥ | ajeyaḥ sarvadevānāṃ gandharvoragarakṣasām
Sūta berkata: “Pada zaman dahulu ada seorang raja Dānava yang amat perkasa bernama Bāṣkali; tiada terkalahkan oleh para dewa, bahkan oleh Gandharva, Nāga dan Rākṣasa.”
Sūta
Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ
Scene: Sūta narrates an ancient time: the daitya-king Bāṣkali, towering and armored, surrounded by daitya retinue; gods and celestial beings shown wary in the distance.
FAQs
Purāṇic tīrtha narratives often begin with cosmic imbalance—an invincible antagonist—setting the stage for divine restoration.
This verse begins the origin-story sequence that will explain the Jalaśāyī site’s establishment.
None here; it introduces the antagonist (Bāṣkali) for the forthcoming tīrtha-māhātmya account.