Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9
सर्वेषामग्रतो भूत्वा पाताले हाटकेश्वरम् । यश्चादौ तत्र गत्वा च नेक्षयिष्यति तं हरम् । सर्वेषां श्रमजं पापं तस्यैकस्य भविष्यति
sarveṣāmagrato bhūtvā pātāle hāṭakeśvaram | yaścādau tatra gatvā ca nekṣayiṣyati taṃ haram | sarveṣāṃ śramajaṃ pāpaṃ tasyaikasya bhaviṣyati
« Celui qui, devançant tous les autres, parvient à Hāṭakeśvara dans le monde souterrain et, arrivé le premier, ne contemple pas ce Hara, sur lui seul retombera le péché né de la fatigue de tous ».
Sūta (reporting the sages’ pact/condition)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara
Type: cave
Scene: A dramatic threshold scene: a foremost sage at the edge of a cavernous netherworld gateway, others behind; the unseen Hāṭakeśvara presence implied; the warning of collective sin hangs in the air.
FAQs
Pilgrimage is not mere arrival; the goal is darśana with devotion—selfish rushing can turn sacred effort into burden and fault.
Hāṭakeśvara, described as accessible in/through Pātāla imagery, within the Vārāṇasī sacred narrative.
A conditional vow/pact is described: the first-arriver must obtain darśana, otherwise he bears the collective ‘toil-born’ demerit.