Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 3
प्रागेव चंडिकां देवीं क्षेत्रादीशानतः स्थिताम् । आसेदुर्मार्गखिन्नास्ते द्रौपदीपंचमास्तदा
prāgeva caṃḍikāṃ devīṃ kṣetrādīśānataḥ sthitām | āsedurmārgakhinnāste draupadīpaṃcamāstadā
প্ৰথমে তেওঁলোকে সেই পবিত্ৰ ক্ষেত্ৰৰ ঈশান কোণত অৱস্থিত চণ্ডিকা দেৱীক আশ্ৰয় কৰি ওচৰ চাপিল। পথশ্ৰমে ক্লান্ত হৈ, দ্ৰৌপদী পঞ্চমীসহ তেতিয়াই তাত উপস্থিত হ’ল।
Narrator (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)
Tirtha: Caṇḍikā-kṣetra (as implied by the shrine within the precinct)
Type: kshetra
Scene: The Pāṇḍavas and Draupadī arrive dusty and weary at a northeastern shrine of Caṇḍikā—lion-emblem, trident motifs, red cloths—set slightly elevated, marking the edge of the sacred precinct.
FAQs
Pilgrims seek refuge first in the Mother Goddess; sacred geography (directions within a kṣetra) is treated as spiritually meaningful.
A Caṇḍikā Devī location within a ‘kṣetra’ is indicated (northeast side), but the broader place-name is not provided in this verse.
No explicit ritual is stated here; it narrates darśana/approach to the Devī shrine.