Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

गयाकूप्यनुषंगेण शक्रगौतमचेष्टितम् । बालमण्डनमाहात्म्यं शक्रेश्वरसमन्वितम्

Transliteration

gayākūpyanuṣaṃgeṇa śakragautamaceṣṭitam | bālamaṇḍanamāhātmyaṃ śakreśvarasamanvitam

Translation

ଗୟାକୂପୀର ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗରେ ମୁଁ ଶକ୍ର ଓ ଗୌତମଙ୍କ ଚରିତ, ଏବଂ ଶକ୍ରେଶ୍ୱରସହିତ ବାଲମଣ୍ଡନର ମାହାତ୍ମ୍ୟ ବର୍ଣ୍ଣନା କରିଛି।

Word by Word

• गयाकूपि-अनुषङ्गेण: by the association/connection with Gayākūpī
• गयाकूपि-अनुषङ्गेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गयाकूपि (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुषङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गयाकूप्याः अनुषङ्गः)

• शक्र-गौतम-चेष्टितम्: the deed/act of Śakra and Gautama
• शक्र-गौतम-चेष्टितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + गौतम (प्रातिपदिक) + चेष्टित (कृदन्त; √चेष्ट् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘चेष्टित’; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शक्रगौतमयोः चेष्टितम्)

• बाल-मण्डन-माहात्म्यम्: the greatness of Bālamaṇḍana
• बाल-मण्डन-माहात्म्यम्: Karma/Topic (Object/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक) + मण्डन (प्रातिपदिक) + माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (बालमण्डनस्य माहात्म्यम्)

• शक्र-ईश्वर-समन्वितम्: associated with Śakreśvara
• शक्र-ईश्वर-समन्वितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त; √अन्वि/अनु+√इ धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘समन्वित’; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शक्रेश्वरेण समन्वितम्)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator summarizing the chapter’s tīrtha topics

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (Gayākūpī; Śakreśvara; Bālamaṇḍana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (typical Purāṇic frame; not explicit in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator concludes a linked set of sacred episodes: Gayākūpī well-shrine, Indra and Gautama’s deeds, a child’s tonsure rite (bāla-muṇḍana) near a Śiva-liṅga, and the presence of Śakreśvara as the kṣetra’s focal emblem.

Characters & Entities

• Gayākūpī
• Śakra (Indra)
• Gautama
• Bālamaṇḍana
• Śakreśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is taught through connected tīrtha-narratives, where divine and ṛṣi deeds reveal the power of Śaiva sites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayākūpī and Bālamaṇḍana, with the Śiva presence as Śakreśvara, within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; it points to the māhātmya (glorification) of particular tīrthas and a Śiva-liṅga (Śakreśvara).