Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

एवं सोमेश्वरास्तत्र बभूवुर्द्विजसत्तमाः । अष्टषष्टिषु तीर्थेषु तथान्येषु ततः परम्

Transliteration

evaṃ someśvarāstatra babhūvurdvijasattamāḥ | aṣṭaṣaṣṭiṣu tīrtheṣu tathānyeṣu tataḥ param

Translation

Demikianlah, wahai Brahmana yang paling utama, Somēśvara pun terwujud di sana—di enam puluh lapan tīrtha suci, dan juga di tempat-tempat lain di luar itu.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: ‘thus’)

• सोमेश्वराः: Soma-lords / Someshvaras
• सोमेश्वराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative 1st); बहुवचन (Plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of place: ‘there’)

• बभूवुः: became / came to be
• बभूवुः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपद

• द्विजसत्तमाः: best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज-सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचन

• अष्टषष्टिषु: in (the) sixty-eight
• अष्टषष्टिषु: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्ट-षष्टि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (षष्टि-शब्दानुसार); सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative 7th); बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक (in sixty-eight)

• तीर्थेषु: in the sacred fords/pilgrimage places
• तीर्थेषु: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन

• तथा: and likewise / also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connective)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक (indeclinable: ‘also/likewise’)

• अन्येषु: in other (places)
• अन्येषु: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying implied ‘तीर्थेषु’)

• ततः: thereafter / from that
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थक/क्रमवाचक (indeclinable: ‘thereafter/from that’)

• परम्: further / beyond
• परम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन प्रयुक्तं; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative: ‘further/afterwards’)

Speaker

Narrator (addressing dvijasattama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aṣṭaṣaṣṭi-tīrtha-saṅgraha (Sixty-eight tīrthas) within Somēśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages / ‘dvija-sattamāḥ’ audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred map: numerous small Śiva-liṅgas labeled as Somēśvara scattered around waterbodies and shrines, with pilgrims moving in a clockwise circuit among sixty-eight tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Somēśvara (Śiva)
• Aṣṭaṣaṣṭi (68) Tīrthas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred presence multiplies across geography for devotees’ uplift; tīrthas become living points of divine accessibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A collective sanctification of sixty-eight tīrthas associated with Somēśvara (Śiva connected with Soma), forming a pilgrimage network within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The passage supports Somēśvara worship at these tīrthas—especially aligned with Somavāra—though detailed rites are not enumerated in this verse.