Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

स चागत्य मुनि श्रेष्ठो देशं चानर्तसंज्ञितम् । हाटकेश्वरजे क्षेत्रे शंखतीर्थसमीपतः

Transliteration

sa cāgatya muni śreṣṭho deśaṃ cānartasaṃjñitam | hāṭakeśvaraje kṣetre śaṃkhatīrthasamīpataḥ

Translation

Ce sage éminent vint au pays nommé Anarta, dans le kṣetra sacré de Hāṭakeśvara, près de Śaṅkhatīrtha.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• आगत्य: having come
• आगत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√गम् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having come’

• मुनिः: the sage
• मुनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• श्रेष्ठः: excellent/best
• श्रेष्ठः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (superlative sense: best)

• देशम्: region/country
• देशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• अनर्तसंज्ञितम्: known as ‘Anarta’
• अनर्तसंज्ञितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनर्त-संज्ञित (प्रातिपदिक); √ज्ञा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तृतीया/नाम-तत्पुरुषः (अनर्त-इति संज्ञया ज्ञातम् = अनर्तसंज्ञितम्)

• हाटकेश्वरजे: belonging to/connected with Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरजे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर-ज (प्रातिपदिक); √जन् (धातु) + ड (कृदन्त/तद्धित-सम्भव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हाटकेश्वरस्य जातम्/सम्बद्धम्)

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred field/holy place
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• शंखतीर्थसमीपतः: near the Śaṅkha-tīrtha
• शंखतीर्थसमीपतः: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शंखतीर्थ-समीपतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (postpositional adverb) = ‘near Śaṅkha-tīrtha’; मूलम्—समीप (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित/अव्ययीभाव-प्रत्यय)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkhatīrtha (near Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha arrives in Anarta: a coastal-western landscape with a sacred precinct of Hāṭakeśvara; nearby a tīrtha marked by a conch emblem (Śaṅkha), with pilgrims and ascetics at the water’s edge.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Anarta
• Hāṭakeśvara
• Śaṅkhatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives anchor spiritual events in sacred landscapes, teaching that holy places (kṣetras) support purification and reconciliation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaṅkhatīrtha, situated near the Hāṭakeśvara kṣetra in the Anarta region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pilgrimage/approach to the tīrtha (tīrtha-sevā); no explicit rite is stated in this verse.