Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

ततःप्रभृति विख्यातो याज्ञव ल्क्येश्वरः शुभः । तस्मिन्क्षेत्रे द्विजश्रेष्ठा हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञके

Transliteration

tataḥprabhṛti vikhyāto yājñava lkyeśvaraḥ śubhaḥ | tasminkṣetre dvijaśreṣṭhā hāṭakeśvarasaṃjñake

Translation

அந்நாள்முதல், ஓ த்விஜச்ரேஷ்டா, ‘ஹாடகேஸ்வர’ எனப்படும் அந்தக் க்ஷேத்திரத்தில் ‘யாஜ்ஞவல்க்யேஸ்வர’ எனும் திருவுடையான் புகழ்பெற்றான்.

Word by Word

• ततः: from then
• ततः: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable: from then)

• प्रभृति: onwards
• प्रभृति: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभृति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ-निर्देशक (indeclinable: onwards/since)

• विख्यातः: became renowned
• विख्यातः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ख्यात (प्रातिपदिक; ख्या धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP used adjectivally)

• याज्ञवल्क्येश्वरः: Yājñavalkyeśvara (Lord associated with Yājñavalkya)
• याज्ञवल्क्येश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: याज्ञवल्क्य-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; याज्ञवल्क्य + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• शुभः: auspicious
• शुभः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying याज्ञवल्क्येश्वरः)

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative, Singular)

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred place
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born (brāhmaṇas)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana/Addressed (Vocative sense/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज-श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक; द्विज + श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञके: called Hāṭakeśvara
• हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञके: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हाटकेश्वर-संज्ञक (प्रातिपदिक; हाटकेश्वर + संज्ञक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Neuter, Locative, Singular; qualifying क्षेत्रे)

Speaker

Narrator within the Māhātmya (speaker not explicit in snippet; likely Sūta or a Purāṇic narrator addressing brāhmaṇas)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yājñavalkyeśvara in Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-śreṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A concluding tableau: the shrine is shown with an inscription or oral proclamation naming it ‘Yājñavalkyeśvara’ in the ‘Hāṭakeśvara’ field; brāhmaṇas listen as the narrator addresses ‘O best of twice-born’.

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkyeśvara
• Hāṭakeśvara
• Śiva
• Dvija (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy place gains enduring sanctity through the manifestation and renown of a Śiva-liṅga connected to a great sage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, where the liṅga is famed as Yājñavalkyeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription here; it establishes the kṣetra-name and the celebrated form of Śiva worshipped there.