Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

कृतः समाश्रयस्तत्र क्षेत्रे तीर्थैः शुभावहे । बहुत्वादथ कालस्य बहूनि द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

kṛtaḥ samāśrayastatra kṣetre tīrthaiḥ śubhāvahe | bahutvādatha kālasya bahūni dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

Dans ce kṣetra de bon augure, dispensateur de bien, les tīrtha en firent leur refuge commun. Mais lorsque le temps devint immense, ô meilleur des deux-fois-nés, beaucoup (d’entre eux) se transformèrent.

Word by Word

• कृतः: done; made
• कृतः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृ-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (past passive participle; masculine nominative singular)

• समाश्रयः: resort; refuge; settlement
• समाश्रयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्+आ+श्रि (धातु) → समाश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (masculine nominative singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred field/region
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (neuter locative singular)

• तीर्थैः: by/with the tīrthas (pilgrimage places)
• तीर्थैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-बहुवचनम् (neuter instrumental plural)

• शुभावहे: bringing auspiciousness
• शुभावहे: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ+आवह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: शुभम् आवहति इति (उपपद-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम्, क्षेत्रे इति विशेषणम् (neuter locative singular, qualifying kṣetre)

• बहुत्वात्: because of abundance/multiplicity
• बहुत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहुत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी-एकवचनम् (neuter ablative singular; कारणे)

• अथ: then; now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्ययम् (particle: then/now)

• कालस्य: of time
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी-एकवचनम् (masculine genitive singular)

• बहूनि: many
• बहूनि: Visheshya (Predicate/विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (neuter nominative plural)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज+सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: द्विजानां सत्तमाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (masculine nominative plural; संबोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (elite Brāhmaṇa audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide sacred landscape where many tīrtha-personifications (river-goddesses, sages, liṅgas, kuṇḍas) converge as if taking shelter in one radiant kṣetra; in the distance, faint signs of erosion/time hint that some sites will fade.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A kṣetra is a stable spiritual refuge even when individual shrines or markers change across long periods of time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The auspicious Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is presented as the shared abode of many tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames the sacred landscape and its continuity.