Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12
स यथा तत्र क्षेत्रे तु संश्रितो भगवान्स्वयम् । जलशायिस्वरूपेण तच्छृशुध्वं समाहिताः
sa yathā tatra kṣetre tu saṃśrito bhagavānsvayam | jalaśāyisvarūpeṇa tacchṛśudhvaṃ samāhitāḥ
Hört nun mit gesammeltetem Geist, wie der Herr selbst in jenem heiligen Kṣetra Zuflucht nahm und sich als Jalaśāyī offenbarte, als der auf den Wassern Ruhende.
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: dvijāḥ / dvijottamāḥ (twice-born listeners)
Scene: A sacred field by water: the Lord manifest as Jalaśāyī—Viṣṇu reclining on Śeṣa upon a lotus-strewn expanse of water—while attentive listeners sit with folded hands, urged to hear with concentrated minds.
FAQs
The same supreme Lord can be cosmically enthroned and yet locally present in a kṣetra for devotees’ benefit.
A particular kṣetra featuring Jalaśāyī (connected to a cave-entrance in the surrounding verses) is being introduced for glorification.
An injunction to listen attentively (samāhitāḥ) to the māhātmya explaining the deity’s manifestation.