Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45
नैषा वसुमती विप्र समुद्रेण विनाकृता । राजते वस्तुसंत्यक्ता यथा नारी विभूषिता
naiṣā vasumatī vipra samudreṇa vinākṛtā | rājate vastusaṃtyaktā yathā nārī vibhūṣitā
يا أيها البرهمن، إن هذه الأرض إذا حُرِمَت من المحيط لا تشرق؛ فإذا فُقِدَ كنزُها الجوهري كانت كامرأةٍ متزينةٍ ولكنها تفتقد ما يُتمّها حقًّا.
Devas (continuing appeal to the sage)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (implied)
Scene: A poetic tableau: Earth as a regal woman adorned yet incomplete without the ocean; the empty coastline looks pale and diminished, awaiting the return of waves to restore her radiance.
FAQs
Dharma values wholeness and harmony: the world’s beauty depends on the proper place of each cosmic element.
The oceanic realm is emphasized as a sacred and necessary component of the world’s tīrtha-landscape.
None; the verse uses metaphor to argue for restoring the ocean.