Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
मार्कण्डेय उवाच । पुरा कृतयुगस्यादौ दक्षिणे गिरिमुत्तमम् । विन्ध्यं सर्वगुणोपेतं नियतो नियताशनः
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | purā kṛtayugasyādau dakṣiṇe girimuttamam | vindhyaṃ sarvaguṇopetaṃ niyato niyatāśanaḥ
মাৰ্কণ্ডেয় ক’লে: বহু আগতে, কৃতযুগৰ আৰম্ভণিতে, দক্ষিণ দিশত, সকলো গুণেৰে সমৃদ্ধ উত্তম বিন্ধ্য পৰ্বতলৈ মই গ’লোঁ; নিয়ম-সংযমত স্থিৰ আৰু মিতাহাৰী আছিলোঁ।
Markaṇḍeya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya narrates his early Kṛta-yuga approach to the virtuous Vindhya: a vast mountain with hermitages, the sage austere, carrying kamaṇḍalu, practicing restraint.
FAQs
Tīrtha origins are tied to ṛṣi-discipline: self-restraint and tapas are presented as the backdrop of sacred geography.
The narrative begins in the Vindhya region, setting up the later identification of a Narmadā tīrtha.
An ascetic ideal is implied: niyama (discipline) and regulated diet (niyatāśana).