Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

हाटकेश्वरजे क्षेत्रे संन्यस्तः प्रथमः क्रमः । महर्लोके द्विती यस्तु तदा तेन महात्मना

Transliteration

hāṭakeśvaraje kṣetre saṃnyastaḥ prathamaḥ kramaḥ | maharloke dvitī yastu tadā tena mahātmanā

Translation

Dans le domaine sacré de Hāṭakeśvara fut posé le premier pas ; et le second, en ce temps-là, par ce grand Être, fut placé en Maharloka.

Word by Word

• हाटकेश्वरजे: in (the place) of Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरजे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध/अपादानार्थ: 'born/produced in Hāṭakeśvara'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण of क्षेत्रे)

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

• संन्यस्तः: was placed/laid down
• संन्यस्तः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + नि + अस्/न्यस् (धातु) + संन्यस्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• प्रथमः: first
• प्रथमः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण of क्रमः)

• क्रमः: step
• क्रमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महर्लोके: in Maharloka
• महर्लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर् (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: 'world of Mahar'); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• द्वितीयः: second
• द्वितीयः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण; understood with क्रमः)

• यः: which/who
• यः: Karta (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (सम्बन्धक)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ('great-souled'); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (first stride)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: on earth, Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra with a footprint shrine where the first stride lands; above, a luminous Maharloka realm receiving the second stride, populated by sages and radiant beings.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu (Trivikrama)
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• Maharloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas sacralize geography by connecting earthly sites to cosmic events, making pilgrimage a remembrance of divine acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is named as the locus of the first stride connected to Viṣṇu’s ‘step’ tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it provides mythic-topographical placement of Viṣṇu’s stride(s).