ततः कृच्छ्रेण महता कुष्ठव्याधिसमाकुलः । हाटकेश्वरजे क्षेत्रे संप्राप्तः स द्विजोत्तमाः
tataḥ kṛcchreṇa mahatā kuṣṭhavyādhisamākulaḥ | hāṭakeśvaraje kṣetre saṃprāptaḥ sa dvijottamāḥ
Rồi sau đó, hết sức nhọc nhằn—bị bệnh phong (cùi) hành hạ—vị brāhmaṇa ưu tú ấy đã đến miền thánh địa thuộc về Hāṭakeśvara.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya context; specific speaker not stated in snippet)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Not specified.
Scene: A leprosy-stricken brāhmaṇa, exhausted, arrives at the boundary of Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra—dusty road, staff in hand, body wrapped, eyes fixed on distant temple spires.
Even severe bodily affliction does not obstruct dharma when one perseveres toward a sacred kṣetra.
Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra is named as a sanctified region within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha landscape.
No explicit ritual is stated; the act of reaching the kṣetra itself is foregrounded as spiritually meaningful.