Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

राजोवाच । एतत्पुण्यतमं क्षेत्रं नानातीर्थसमाश्रयम् । हाटकेश्वरमाहात्म्यात्सर्वपापक्षयापहम्

Transliteration

rājovāca | etatpuṇyatamaṃ kṣetraṃ nānātīrthasamāśrayam | hāṭakeśvaramāhātmyātsarvapāpakṣayāpaham

Translation

Le Roi dit : «Voici la contrée la plus sacrée, refuge de nombreux tīrtha. Par la grandeur de Hāṭakeśvara, tous les péchés s’anéantissent».

Word by Word

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘राजा’ (king)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘उवाच’ (said)

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘एतत्’ (this)

• puṇyatamam: most sacred
• puṇyatamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya-tama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तमप्-प्रत्यय (superlative) — ‘अत्यन्तं पुण्यम्’

• kṣetram: holy place
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘क्षेत्रम्’ (holy place/field)

• nānātīrthasamāśrayam: resorted to by many sacred fords
• nānātīrthasamāśrayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + samāśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘नानातीरथानां समाश्रयः’ (having many tīrthas as resort)

• hāṭakeśvaramāhātmyāt: due to the glory of Hāṭakeśvara
• hāṭakeśvaramāhātmyāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु; Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāṭakeśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी) — ‘हाटकेश्वरस्य माहात्म्यात्’ (from the glory of Hāṭakeśvara)

• sarvapāpakṣayāpaham: removing the destruction of all sins (sin-destroying)
• sarvapāpakṣayāpaham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + apaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः — ‘सर्वपापानां क्षयम् अपहन्ति’ (sin-destroying)

Speaker

The King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience/ṛṣis (implicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king, hands folded, addresses Śiva, extolling the kṣetra as the holiest and a confluence of many tīrthas; behind them, a sacred landscape with multiple shrines/ghāṭs/kuṇḍas symbolizing ‘nānā-tīrtha’.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara
• tīrthas (multiple sacred fords)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is transformative: a kṣetra centered on Śiva becomes a field for purification and moral renewal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (the sacred region of Hāṭakeśvara), described as an abode of many tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, tīrtha-sevana (pilgrimage/approach to the sacred place) for pāpa-kṣaya; no specific rite is detailed in this verse.