Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

प्रेत उवाच । अस्ति पुण्यं महाक्षेत्रं हाटकेश्वरसंज्ञितम् । गंगा च यमुना चैव स्थिते तत्र च संगमे

Transliteration

preta uvāca | asti puṇyaṃ mahākṣetraṃ hāṭakeśvarasaṃjñitam | gaṃgā ca yamunā caiva sthite tatra ca saṃgame

Translation

เปรตกล่าวว่า: มีมหากษेत्रอันเปี่ยมบุญยิ่ง ชื่อว่า “หาฏเกศวร” ณ ที่นั้น ณ จุดสังฆมะ คือที่บรรจบกัน พระคงคาและพระยมุนาก็สถิตอยู่

Word by Word

• pretaḥ: the departed spirit (Preta)
• pretaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asti: there is
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puṇyam: holy, meritorious
• puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahā-kṣetram: a great sacred region
• mahā-kṣetram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hāṭaka-īśvara-saṃjñitam: called Hāṭakeśvara
• hāṭaka-īśvara-saṃjñitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hāṭaka (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (प्रातिपदिक; √jñā)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) 'named/called'

• gaṅgā: Ganga
• gaṅgā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• yamunā: Yamuna
• yamunā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yamunā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sthite: are situated
• sthite: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; 'standing/situated' (gaṅgā-yamune)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃgame: at the confluence
• saṃgame: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Preta (a departed spirit)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Unnamed questioner (addressed as mahābhāga/mahāmati in surrounding verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The preta begins his narration, pointing to a great sacred field named Hāṭakeśvara where Gaṅgā and Yamunā meet in a luminous confluence.

Characters & Entities

• Hāṭakeśvara
• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Saṅgama (confluence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places and river-confluences are praised as powerful sources of puṇya, capable of transforming even difficult states of existence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Hāṭakeśvara Mahākṣetra at the Gaṅgā–Yamunā confluence (saṅgama).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it introduces the tīrtha and its sacred setting (the saṅgama).