Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

आनर्तविषये रम्यं सर्वतीर्थमयं शुभम् । हाटकेश्वरजं क्षेत्रं महापातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

ānartaviṣaye ramyaṃ sarvatīrthamayaṃ śubham | hāṭakeśvarajaṃ kṣetraṃ mahāpātakanāśanam

Translation

Dans la délicieuse contrée d’Ānarta se trouve un kṣetra de bon augure, né de Hāṭakeśvara, imprégné de la puissance de tous les tīrthas, destructeur même des grands péchés.

Word by Word

• आनर्तविषये: in the Anarta region
• आनर्तविषये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनर्त (प्रातिपदिक) + विषय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (आनर्तस्य विषयः)

• रम्यम्: delightful
• रम्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; ‘क्षेत्रम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सर्वतीर्थमयम्: consisting of all tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थमयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सर्वाणि तीर्थानि यस्मिन्/येन मयम्)

• शुभम्: auspicious
• शुभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; ‘क्षेत्रम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• हाटकेश्वरजम्: born from/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष (हाटकेश्वरात् जातम्)

• क्षेत्रम्: the sacred field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• महापातकनाशनम्: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महापातकस्य नाशनम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; likely Sūta within Nāgarakhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (in Ānarta-viṣaya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottama (unnamed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred landscape in western India: a radiant Śiva-kṣetra with a central liṅga shrine of Hāṭakeśvara, pilgrims arriving, and subtle iconographic hints of ‘all tīrthas’ (multiple rivers/ghats symbolically converging).

Characters & Entities

• Ānarta
• Hāṭakeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain Śaiva sacred geographies are praised as ‘sarvatīrthamaya’—their pilgrimage merit rivals many tīrthas combined and purifies severe wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, located in the Ānarta country, is explicitly glorified.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated here; the verse establishes the site’s inherent purificatory power as a tīrtha-kṣetra.