Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
स्थापयामास विप्रेंद्राः श्रद्धया परया युतः । ततश्चानीय विप्रेंद्रं मध्यगं नागरोद्भवम् । गर्तातीर्थसमुद्भूतमाहिताग्निं प्रयाजिनम् । यथैतन्नगरस्थानं तथा त्वमपि दीक्षितः
sthāpayāmāsa vipreṃdrāḥ śraddhayā parayā yutaḥ | tataścānīya vipreṃdraṃ madhyagaṃ nāgarodbhavam | gartātīrthasamudbhūtamāhitāgniṃ prayājinam | yathaitannagarasthānaṃ tathā tvamapi dīkṣitaḥ
O Bester unter den Brāhmaṇen, von höchster श्रद्धा erfüllt, errichtete er es. Dann ließ er einen hervorragenden Brāhmaṇa herbeiholen—eine Mitte unter den Nāgaras, aus dem heiligen Gartā‑Tīrtha hervorgegangen, ein Āhitāgni, Hüter der geweihten Feuer, und ein Vollzieher der Opfer—und es wurde gesprochen: „Wie dieser Ort ein Stadtsitz ist, so bist auch du ordnungsgemäß geweiht (dīkṣita), hier den Vorsitz zu führen.“
Sūta (continued narration)
Tirtha: Gartā-tīrtha (as origin-point) / nagara-sthāna within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: tirtha
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (implied)
Scene: A ceremonial installation: a revered brāhmaṇa (āhitāgni) is brought to the center; sacred fires, ladles, and yajña implements appear; elders declare his dīkṣā to preside over the city-seat connected to the shrine.
FAQs
Sacred places are sustained by faith, proper consecration, and the appointment of qualified ritual leaders rooted in Vedic discipline.
Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and the associated Gartā-tīrtha within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa narrative landscape.
Consecration/establishment (sthāpanā) and initiation (dīkṣā) of an āhitāgni, sacrifice-performing brāhmaṇa to preside over rites.