Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

तत्र कूपो महाराज तिष्ठते देवनिर्मितः । शिवस्य पश्चिमे भागे शिवक्षेत्रमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

tatra kūpo mahārāja tiṣṭhate devanirmitaḥ | śivasya paścime bhāge śivakṣetramanuttamam

Translation

Là, ô grand roi, se dresse un puits façonné par les dieux. Sur le côté occidental de Śiva se trouve l’incomparable Śiva-kṣetra.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• कूपः: a well
• कूपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative); एकवचन

• तिष्ठते: stands/remains
• तिष्ठते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• देवनिर्मितः: made by the gods
• देवनिर्मितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्मित (कृदन्त; √मा/मि ‘to measure/build’ with नि- उपसर्ग; past passive participle)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying कूपः)

• शिवस्य: of Śiva
• शिवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• पश्चिमे: in the western
• पश्चिमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative); एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying भागे)

• भागे: part/region
• भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Śiva’s sacred field (holy area)
• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed, excellent
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying शिवक्षेत्रम्)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (to the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māṇḍavya-tīrtha (contextual locus) / Śiva-kṣetra with deva-nirmita kūpa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja / Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Śaiva landscape: a stone-lined divine well gleaming, with Śiva’s shrine to the east and the ‘western’ kṣetra indicated by sacred trees, ash-smeared ascetics, and gentle Revā ambience.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śivakṣetra
• Deva (gods)
• Kūpa (sacred well)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are mapped through tangible sacred landmarks—wells, pools, and directional sanctity—anchoring devotion in lived geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A deity-associated Śivakṣetra and its divine well within the Māṇḍavya-tīrtha setting of Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; the verse identifies sacred topography (a divine well and the western Śiva-kṣetra).