Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

। सूत उवाच । पुरा कल्पे भगवता एतत्क्षेत्रमनुत्तमम् । रुद्रेण ब्रह्मणे दत्तं तुष्टेन द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

| sūta uvāca | purā kalpe bhagavatā etatkṣetramanuttamam | rudreṇa brahmaṇe dattaṃ tuṣṭena dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ! പുരാതന കല്പത്തിൽ ഭഗവാൻ രുദ്രൻ പ്രസന്നനായി ഈ അനുത്തമ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രം ബ്രഹ്മാവിന് ദാനമായി നൽകി।

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता/कर्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्शभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) adverb of time

• kalpe: in a kalpa
• kalpe: Adhikarana (Location/Time setting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• bhagavatā: by the Lord
• bhagavatā: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; कर्तृकरणभावे—"by the Lord"

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• kṣetram: sacred field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (passive)

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—superlative sense

• rudreṇa: by Rudra
• rudreṇa: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; कर्तृकरणभावे—"by Rudra"

• brahmaṇe: to Brahmā
• brahmaṇe: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; सम्प्रदान

• dattam: given
• dattam: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (दा धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे भूतकर्मणि—"given"

• tuṣṭena: (when) pleased
• tuṣṭena: Hetu/Avadharana (State/Reason adjunct)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣṭa (तुष् धातु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (rudreṇa) —"being pleased"

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे (vocative sense in context) "O best of twice-born"

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (implied by section)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (implied by Sūta-uvāca frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra, serene yet majestic, gestures in donation (dāna-mudrā) toward Brahmā; behind them, a luminous map-like vision of the kṣetra appears, indicating a divine charter of sacred land.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Rudra (Śiva)
• Brahmā
• dvija (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is rooted in divine intention—holy places are established and protected by the grace of Rudra for the welfare of Dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

An ‘anuttama kṣetra’ within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the chapter context links it with Hāṭakeśvara and the Mahāsena shrine complex.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed in this verse; it introduces the sacred provenance (divine gifting) of the kṣetra.