Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अथांबा चैव वृद्धा च वैधव्यं प्राप्य दुःखदम् । हाटकेश्वरजं क्षेत्रं गत्वा ते वांछितप्रदम्

Transliteration

athāṃbā caiva vṛddhā ca vaidhavyaṃ prāpya duḥkhadam | hāṭakeśvarajaṃ kṣetraṃ gatvā te vāṃchitapradam

Translation

Alors Ambā et Vṛddhā, tombées dans la douloureuse condition de veuves, se rendirent au saint kṣetra de Hāṭakeśvara, dispensateur des grâces désirées.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Discourse connector (अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (sequencer)

• āṃbā: Ambā
• āṃbā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āṃbā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• vṛddhā: the old woman (Vṛddhā)
• vṛddhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• vaidhavyam: widowhood
• vaidhavyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidhavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• prāpya: having attained
• prāpya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√āp (आप् धातु) (कृदन्त: ल्यप्/त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), अर्थः ‘प्राप्य’ (having attained)

• duḥkha-dam: pain-giving
• duḥkha-dam: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘दुःखं ददाति’

• hāṭakeśvara-jam: connected with/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara
• hāṭakeśvara-jam: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāṭakeśvara + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘हाटकेश्वरात् जातम्/सम्बद्धम्’

• kṣetram: sacred place/field (tīrtha)
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु) (कृदन्त: क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), अर्थः ‘गत्वा’ (having gone)

• te: those two
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (Dual)

• vāṃchita-pradam: granting desired boons
• vāṃchita-pradam: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāṃchita + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘वाञ्छितं प्रददाति’

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two widowed queens, veiled and austere, arrive at a sacred Śaiva field—temple silhouette, liṅga shrine, and pilgrims—carrying offerings; their grief is visible but directed toward devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Ambā
• Vṛddhā
• Hāṭakeśvara
• kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering can become a doorway to tīrtha-sevā: in grief, one turns toward a kṣetra where devotion transforms pain into purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is explicitly named and praised as “vāṃchita-prada,” a sacred place known for fulfilling heartfelt aims.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act prescribed by implication is tīrtha-gamana (pilgrimage) to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra as a means for spiritual and worldly fulfillment.