Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

लिंगे संस्थापिते ताभ्यां सीमांते दक्षिणोत्तरे । हाटकेश्वरजं क्षेत्रं संप्राप्य तपसि द्रुतम्

Transliteration

liṃge saṃsthāpite tābhyāṃ sīmāṃte dakṣiṇottare | hāṭakeśvarajaṃ kṣetraṃ saṃprāpya tapasi drutam

Translation

Nachdem die beiden an der Grenze, am südlichen und nördlichen Saum, einen Liṅga errichtet hatten, gelangten sie in das mit Hāṭakeśvara verbundene heilige Gebiet und widmeten sich sogleich der Askese.

Word by Word

• लिङ्गे: in the liṅga (emblem)
• लिङ्गे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• संस्थापिते: having been installed
• संस्थापिते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), causative sense: सम्+√स्था (स्थापने) → संस्थापित; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘when it was स्थापित’ (locative absolute with लिङ्गे)

• ताभ्याम्: by those two
• ताभ्याम्: Karana (Agent-instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), द्विवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्तृ/करणभावे

• सीमान्ते: at the boundary
• सीमान्ते: Adhikarana (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sīmānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• दक्षिणोत्तरे: (at the boundary) south and north
• दक्षिणोत्तरे: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa+uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (दक्षिण+उत्तर) ‘south and north’; सीमान्ते इति विशेषण

• हाटकेश्वरजम्: arising from/connected with Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāṭakeśvara+ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समास: हाटकेश्वरात् जातम् (पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष) / ‘born from/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara’; क्षेत्रम् इति विशेषण

• क्षेत्रम्: the sacred region
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• संप्राप्य: having reached
• संप्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), सम्+प्र+√आप् (प्राप्तौ); ‘having reached’

• तपसि: in austerity
• तपसि: Adhikarana (Sphere)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• द्रुतम्: quickly
• द्रुतम्: Kriya-visheshana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = quickly

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the edge of a sacred region, the two brāhmaṇas install a stone liṅga; one pours water from a kamaṇḍalu, the other offers bilva leaves; distant markers indicate south and north limits; beyond lies the Hāṭakeśvara shrine where they begin austerity.

Characters & Entities

• liṅga
• Hāṭakeśvara
• kṣetra
• sīmānta (boundary)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Consecrating a Śaiva emblem (liṅga) and practicing tapas within a holy boundary sanctifies both place and practitioner.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kṣetra associated with Hāṭakeśvara, presented as a sanctified Śaiva region within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-saṃsthāpana (installing a liṅga) at the sīmānta (boundary), followed by undertaking tapas.