Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
सूत उवाच । एतस्मिन्नंतरे शम्भुर्गणैः सर्वैः समावृतः । इन्द्राद्यैश्च सुरैः सर्वेः क्रोधसंरक्तलोचनः । जगाम वृषमारुह्य पुरीं चैवामरावतीम्
sūta uvāca | etasminnaṃtare śambhurgaṇaiḥ sarvaiḥ samāvṛtaḥ | indrādyaiśca suraiḥ sarveḥ krodhasaṃraktalocanaḥ | jagāma vṛṣamāruhya purīṃ caivāmarāvatīm
سوت نے کہا: اسی اثنا میں شمبھو اپنے سب گنوں سے گھِرا ہوا، اور اِندر وغیرہ تمام دیوتاؤں کے ساتھ، غضب سے سرخ آنکھوں والا، بیل پر سوار ہو کر امراؤتی کی پُری کی طرف روانہ ہوا۔
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya
Scene: Śiva with eyes red from wrath, surrounded by gaṇas and accompanied by Indra and other devas, mounts Nandin (the Bull) and advances toward Amarāvatī—clouds part, banners ripple, weapons gleam.
FAQs
Dharma is protected when divine order mobilizes against adharma; Śiva’s presence signifies the ultimate guardianship of cosmic balance.
The broader frame is Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya in the Nāgara Khaṇḍa, though this verse itself shifts briefly to the divine city Amarāvatī.
None; the verse is narrative, setting the scene for the conflict.