Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35
सुप्ते देवे वृक्षमध्यमास्थाय भगवान्प्रभुः । जलं पृथ्वीगतं सर्वं प्रपिबन्निव सेवते
supte deve vṛkṣamadhyamāsthāya bhagavānprabhuḥ | jalaṃ pṛthvīgataṃ sarvaṃ prapibanniva sevate
দেব (বিষ্ণু) যখন যোগনিদ্রায় শয়ন করেন, তখন ভগবান প্রভু বৃক্ষের মধ্যভাগে অধিষ্ঠান করেন; পৃথিবীতে প্রবিষ্ট সমস্ত জল যেন পান করছেন—এইভাবে জগতের পালন করেন।
Skanda (deduced; not explicit in snippet)
Tirtha: Aśvattha (Viṣṇu-ādhāra during yoganidrā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A colossal Aśvattha with Viṣṇu subtly enthroned within its heartwood during yoganidrā; beneath, the earth’s waters are drawn upward in a mystical cycle, suggesting the Lord ‘drinking’ and sustaining all.
FAQs
The sacred tree is not merely symbolic: it is portrayed as a cosmic seat where Viṣṇu abides and sustains life, giving theological grounding to tree-veneration.
The verse sacralizes the Aśvattha as a living sacred abode; the ‘site’ is the tree itself within the māhātmya landscape.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it provides the theological rationale supporting Aśvattha-sevā, especially in the Cāturmāsya season.