Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

एतदीशान दैतेयैस्त्रैलोक्यं परिपीडितम् । कालिकेयैर्महावीर्येस्तस्मात्कार्यो महाहवः । अद्यैव तैः समं देव समासाद्य धरातलम्

Transliteration

etadīśāna daiteyaistrailokyaṃ paripīḍitam | kālikeyairmahāvīryestasmātkāryo mahāhavaḥ | adyaiva taiḥ samaṃ deva samāsādya dharātalam

Translation

“Ôi Īśāna, ba cõi đang bị bọn Daitya—những Kālikeya đại lực—đè nén khổ sở. Vì thế phải khởi một trận đại chiến. Ôi Deva, ngay hôm nay xin Ngài xuống mặt đất, gặp chúng và giao chiến.”

Word by Word

• etat: this (situation/thing)
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘this’

• īśāna: O Lord (Īśāna)
• īśāna: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative address

• daiteyaiḥ: by the Daityas (demons)
• daiteyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiteya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental ‘by/with the Daityas’

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; dvigu ‘three worlds’

• paripīḍitam: oppressed, afflicted
• paripīḍitam: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari + pīḍ (धातु) → paripīḍita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; passive participle ‘oppressed’ qualifying trailokyam

• kālikeyaiḥ: by the Kālikeyas
• kālikeyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālikeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental

• mahāvīryaiḥ: (who are) very mighty
• mahāvīryaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; adjective ‘of great valor’ (agreeing with kālikeyaiḥ)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; ablatival adverb ‘therefore/from that’

• kāryaḥ: must be done / should be undertaken
• kāryaḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (Predicative qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; predicate adjective ‘to be done/should be undertaken’

• mahāhavaḥ: a great battle
• mahāhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + hava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; subject/predicate noun ‘great battle’

• adya: today
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय; adverb ‘today’

• eva: indeed, right (now)
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; emphatic particle ‘indeed/just’

• taiḥ: with them
• taiḥ: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; instrumental ‘with them’

• samam: together
• samam: Sahārtha (Togetherness)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb ‘together/equally’

• deva: O Deva (god)
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative

• samāsādya: having approached
• samāsādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-sad (धातु) → samāsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) ‘having approached/reached’

• dharātalam: the earth’s surface
• dharātalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘surface of the earth’ object of samāsādya

Speaker

Viṣṇu (addressing Śiva/Īśāna) (in Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A messenger-like exhortation to Īśāna: the three worlds depicted as distressed; shadowy Kālikeya daityas looming; the command to meet them on earth ‘today’.

Characters & Entities

• Īśāna (Śiva)
• Viṣṇu
• Daityas
• Kālikeyāḥ/Kāleyāḥ
• Trailokya
• Dharātala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When oppression threatens the worlds, decisive righteous action (dharma-yuddha) becomes necessary to restore balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets the stage for events that later become tied to sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a call to immediate divine intervention through battle.