Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

तस्यैवं वर्तमानस्य तपःस्थस्य महात्मनः । जगाम सुमहान्कालः कृच्छ्रे तपसि वर्ततः

Transliteration

tasyaivaṃ vartamānasya tapaḥsthasya mahātmanaḥ | jagāma sumahānkālaḥ kṛcchre tapasi vartataḥ

Translation

Während jener Großgesinnte so verharrte, standhaft in der Askese, verging eine überaus lange Zeit, da er in schwerem Tapas fortfuhr.

Word by Word

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक

• vartamānasya: while continuing/being engaged
• vartamānasya: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛt (धातु) → vartamāna (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle/शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• tapaḥsthasya: abiding in austerity
• tapaḥsthasya: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (tapasi sthitaḥ = stationed in penance); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahātmanaḥ: of the great-souled one
• mahātmanaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (mahān ātmā yasya/mahātmā); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• jagāma: passed, went by
• jagāma: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• su-mahān: very great
• su-mahān: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mahant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (intensified by su-)

• kālaḥ: time
• kālaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kṛcchre: with hardship, painfully
• kṛcchre: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (locative used adverbially); क्रियाविशेषण

• tapasi: in penance
• tapasi: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• vartataḥ: of (him) who was engaged (in it)
• vartataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛt (धातु) → vartamāna/वर्तत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle/शतृ); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in the Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi-assembly (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The ascetic Dānava remains in a fixed posture near a liṅga-shrine; seasons pass—sun, moon, rains—signifying a very long time and severe penance.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• tapas
• kāla (time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual attainments mature through sustained discipline, not haste.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra remains the implied sacred setting for the austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Continued, difficult tapas (austerity) over a long period.