Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

दक्षिणामूर्तिमासाद्य प्रोवाचेदं बृहस्पतिः । हाटकेश्वरजे क्षेत्रे गत्वा तं वीक्ष्य शंकरम्

Transliteration

dakṣiṇāmūrtimāsādya provācedaṃ bṛhaspatiḥ | hāṭakeśvaraje kṣetre gatvā taṃ vīkṣya śaṃkaram

Translation

S’approchant de Dakṣiṇāmūrti, Bṛhaspati prononça ces paroles : «Va au kṣetra sacré de Hāṭakeśvara ; une fois arrivé, contemple Śaṅkara.»

Word by Word

• dakṣiṇāmūrtim: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
• dakṣiṇāmūrtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇāmūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• āsādya: having approached
• āsādya: Kriya (Gerundial subordinate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sad सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having approached)

• provāca: said/spoke forth
• provāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac वच् (धातु) with pra-
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (what was said)

• bṛhaspatiḥ: Bṛhaspati
• bṛhaspatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhaspati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• hāṭakeśvaraje: born of/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara
• hāṭakeśvaraje: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāṭakeśvara + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies kṣetre); तत्पुरुषः (हाटकेश्वरात् जातम्)

• kṣetre: in the sacred field/place
• kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriya (Gerundial subordinate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having gone)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Kriya (Gerundial subordinate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√īkṣ ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकाल (having seen)

• śaṃkaram: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṃkaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of vīkṣya)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating Bṛhaspati’s instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bṛhaspati approaches Dakṣiṇāmūrti in reverence; Dakṣiṇāmūrti, serene under a sacred tree, instructs him to go to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and behold Śaṅkara.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣiṇāmūrti
• Bṛhaspati
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• Śaṅkara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right guidance (guru-vākya) directs seekers toward transformative darśana of Śiva in a sanctified landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is explicitly named as the destination for Śiva’s darśana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage act is prescribed: go to the kṣetra and take darśana of Śaṅkara.