गौतम उवाच । हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञे तु सकृद्दृष्टे च यत्फलम् । पातालस्थे च यत्पुण्यं नराणां जायते फलम् । दृष्टेनानेन तत्पुण्यं पूजितेन विशेषतः
gautama uvāca | hāṭakeśvarasaṃjñe tu sakṛddṛṣṭe ca yatphalam | pātālasthe ca yatpuṇyaṃ narāṇāṃ jāyate phalam | dṛṣṭenānena tatpuṇyaṃ pūjitena viśeṣataḥ
Gautama berkata: “Apa jua hasil yang diperoleh hanya dengan memandang Hāṭakeśvara sekali, dan apa jua pahala yang lahir bagi manusia ketika Ia bersemayam di Pātāla—pahala yang sama itu diperoleh dengan menatap liṅga yang nyata ini, dan lebih lagi dengan memujanya.”
Gautama
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara (and the manifested liṅga praised here)
Type: kshetra
Listener: (contextual) a king/pilgrims within the tīrtha-māhātmya narration
Scene: Sage Gautama points out a manifested liṅga to pilgrims, explaining that its darśana equals the famed Hāṭakeśvara’s pātāla merit; devotees approach with offerings.
Darśana grants merit, but pūjā intensifies it; devotion expressed through worship amplifies tīrtha-phala.
Hāṭakeśvara Liṅga-tīrtha, whose merit is compared to its mysterious Pātāla-abiding sanctity.
Darśana (seeing the liṅga) and especially pūjā (formal worship) are recommended for attaining merit.