Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

हाटकेश्वरजं क्षेत्रं तस्माद्गत्वा करोम्य हम् । पुरश्चरणसंज्ञं च येन शुद्धिः प्रजायते

Transliteration

hāṭakeśvarajaṃ kṣetraṃ tasmādgatvā karomya ham | puraścaraṇasaṃjñaṃ ca yena śuddhiḥ prajāyate

Translation

C'est pourquoi j'irai dans la région sacrée de Hāṭakeśvara, et j'accomplirai le rite connu sous le nom de puraścaraṇa, par lequel survient la purification.

Word by Word

• हाटकेश्वरजम्: born from/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (हाटकेश्वरात् जातम्) — Neuter, Accusative, Singular; Tatpurusha compound

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred field; holy place
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तस्मात्: from that (place)
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन — Pronoun, Ablative, Singular

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया — Absolutive (having gone)

• करोमि: I do; I perform
• करोमि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Present Indicative, 1st person, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन — Pronoun, Nominative, Singular

• पुरश्चरणसंज्ञम्: called ‘puraścaraṇa’
• पुरश्चरणसंज्ञम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरश्चरण + संज्ञा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (पुरश्चरणस्य संज्ञा यस्य) — Neuter, Accusative, Singular; Tatpurusha compound

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction) — Coordinative particle

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Relative pronoun, Instrumental, Singular

• शुद्धिः: purification
• शुद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रजायते: arises; is produced
• प्रजायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Present Indicative, 3rd person, Singular, Ātmanepada

Speaker

Narrator reporting the man’s resolve (indirect speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-votary resolves to depart for Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, holding a water-pot and rosary, with a distant Śiva shrine marking the destination; the mood is disciplined and inward.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True repentance must mature into corrective action—seeking a holy kṣetra and undertaking disciplined practice for śuddhi (purification).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is explicitly named as the place to be approached for purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puraścaraṇa is prescribed—a disciplined regimen traditionally centered on mantra-japa along with supporting observances, undertaken for purification.