Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तच्छ्रुत्वा वचनं तस्य सर्वतीर्थानि तत्क्षणात् । हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञं तत्क्षेत्रं जग्मुर्द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

tacchrutvā vacanaṃ tasya sarvatīrthāni tatkṣaṇāt | hāṭakeśvarasaṃjñaṃ tatkṣetraṃ jagmurdvijottamāḥ

Translation

അവന്റെ വചനം കേട്ട ഉടനെ എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളും ആ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ ഹാടകേശ്വരനാമകമായ ആ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി, ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ।

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘that’ (object of hearing)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्रु (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• वचनम्: speech/words
• वचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वतीर्थानि: all the tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वाणि तीर्थानि)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Sambandha (Temporal adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्-क्षण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणम् ‘immediately’

• हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञम्: named ‘Hāṭakeśvara’
• हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर-संज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हाटकेश्वरस्य संज्ञा यस्य तत्)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण

• क्षेत्रम्: the sacred region
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जग्मुः: went
• जग्मुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• द्विजोत्तमाः: the best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (द्विजेषु उत्तमाः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the Ṛṣis (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottama (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A council-like moment: a speaker’s words ripple outward as light; personified tīrthas—radiant figures and flowing waters—move instantly toward the bannered field labeled ‘Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra,’ while sages (dvijottama) observe.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara
• Sarva-tīrtha (all tīrthas)
• Dvijottama (addressed audience)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest kṣetra draws all sanctities toward itself, making pilgrimage there symbolically equivalent to many tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, explicitly named as the destination of all tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse supports the pilgrimage ideal by depicting a sarva-tīrtha convergence.