Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

निश्चलत्वेन देवेशोह्यष्टषष्टिषु मध्यमः । क्षेत्राणां वसते तत्र तस्य वाक्यान्महेश्वरः

Transliteration

niścalatvena deveśohyaṣṭaṣaṣṭiṣu madhyamaḥ | kṣetrāṇāṃ vasate tatra tasya vākyānmaheśvaraḥ

Translation

Dengan sifat “tidak bergerak”, Tuhan para dewa—yang dihitung sebagai “yang tengah” antara enam puluh lapan kṣetra suci—bersemayam di sana, sebagaimana ditetapkan oleh sabda Maheśvara.

Word by Word

• niścalatvena: by (his) immovability / steadiness
• niścalatvena: Hetu/Karaṇa (Cause/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niścala-tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; भाववाचक-तद्धित (त्व)

• deveśaḥ: Lord of the gods
• deveśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—देवानाम् ईशः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• hi: indeed
• hi: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतु/अवधारण-निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• aṣṭaṣaṣṭiṣu: among the sixty-eight
• aṣṭaṣaṣṭiṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭa-ṣaṣṭi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (षष्टि-आधार), सप्तमी, बहुवचन; संख्या-शब्दः; समासः—अष्ट च षष्टिः इति द्वन्द्वः (68)

• madhyamaḥ: the middle / central one
• madhyamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (deveśaḥ)

• kṣetrāṇām: of the sacred fields
• kṣetrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• vasate: dwells
• vasate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• tasya: of him / his
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; pronoun

• vākyāt: from (his) command
• vākyāt: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; Ablative: “from (his) word/command”

• maheśvaraḥ: Mahēśvara (Great Lord Śiva)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—महान् ईश्वरः इति कर्मधारयः

Speaker

Sūta (narrative exposition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Acaleśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic sacred map: sixty-eight luminous kṣetras arranged like a mandala, with Acaleśvara at the center marked ‘madhyama’; Śiva’s word radiates as a decree.

Characters & Entities

• Deveśa
• Maheśvara
• Kṣetra (sacred fields)
• Aṣṭaṣaṣṭi (sixty-eight)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places form an ordered dhārmic geography; a kṣetra’s status is grounded in Śiva’s sanction and presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Acaleśvara-kṣetra, described as a central one among a set of sixty-eight kṣetras.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse offers a classificatory praise to guide pilgrimage valuation.