Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

कृतः समाश्रयस्तत्र क्षेत्रे तीर्थैः शुभावहे । बहुत्वादथ कालस्य बहूनि द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

kṛtaḥ samāśrayastatra kṣetre tīrthaiḥ śubhāvahe | bahutvādatha kālasya bahūni dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

Di kṣetra yang bertuah dan membawa kesejahteraan itu, para tīrtha menjadikannya tempat perlindungan bersama. Namun apabila masa menjadi panjang, wahai yang terbaik antara kaum dwija, banyak (daripadanya) telah berubah.

Word by Word

• कृतः: done; made
• कृतः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृ-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (past passive participle; masculine nominative singular)

• समाश्रयः: resort; refuge; settlement
• समाश्रयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्+आ+श्रि (धातु) → समाश्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (masculine nominative singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred field/region
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (neuter locative singular)

• तीर्थैः: by/with the tīrthas (pilgrimage places)
• तीर्थैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया-बहुवचनम् (neuter instrumental plural)

• शुभावहे: bringing auspiciousness
• शुभावहे: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ+आवह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: शुभम् आवहति इति (उपपद-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी-एकवचनम्, क्षेत्रे इति विशेषणम् (neuter locative singular, qualifying kṣetre)

• बहुत्वात्: because of abundance/multiplicity
• बहुत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहुत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी-एकवचनम् (neuter ablative singular; कारणे)

• अथ: then; now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्ययम् (particle: then/now)

• कालस्य: of time
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी-एकवचनम् (masculine genitive singular)

• बहूनि: many
• बहूनि: Visheshya (Predicate/विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (neuter nominative plural)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज+सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: द्विजानां सत्तमाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (masculine nominative plural; संबोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (elite Brāhmaṇa audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide sacred landscape where many tīrtha-personifications (river-goddesses, sages, liṅgas, kuṇḍas) converge as if taking shelter in one radiant kṣetra; in the distance, faint signs of erosion/time hint that some sites will fade.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A kṣetra is a stable spiritual refuge even when individual shrines or markers change across long periods of time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The auspicious Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is presented as the shared abode of many tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames the sacred landscape and its continuity.