Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । तथान्यदपि तत्रास्ति पुष्करत्रितयं शुभम् । हाटकेश्वरजे क्षेत्रे सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | tathānyadapi tatrāsti puṣkaratritayaṃ śubham | hāṭakeśvaraje kṣetre sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവിടെ ഹാടകേശ്വരക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ മറ്റൊരു ശുഭമായ പുഷ്കരത്രയം ഉണ്ട്; അത് സർവപാപങ്ങളെയും നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta (the narrator)
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tathā: thus; likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• anyat: another (thing)
• anyat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• asti: is; exists
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puṣkara-tritayam: the triad of Puṣkara (three Puṣkaras)
• puṣkara-tritayam: Karta/Predicate-noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक) + tritaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (puṣkarasya tritayam)

• śubham: auspicious
• śubham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• hāṭakeśvaraje: in/pertaining to Hāṭakeśvara
• hāṭakeśvaraje: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāṭakeśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तद्धित-प्रत्ययज (ज/ja = ‘born in/pertaining to’)

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

• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: destroyer of all sins
• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: Visheshana/Predicate-adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (sarveṣāṃ pātakānāṃ nāśanam)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara-tritaya (threefold Puṣkara) in Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / dvija-uttamāḥ (addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta, seated in a forest-āśrama assembly, points toward a sacred landscape where three lotus-like pools shimmer near a Śiva shrine of Hāṭakeśvara; pilgrims approach with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
• Puṣkara-tritaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography teaches that certain tīrthas, approached with faith, are powerful aids for purification and dharmic renewal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is the setting, and within it the Puṣkara-tritaya (three Puṣkara sacred waters) is praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicitly in this verse; it introduces a sin-destroying tīrtha, typically implying pilgrimage and sacred bathing (snāna) in context.