Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19
ईश्वर उवाच । मुञ्चध्वमुदकं देवास्तीर्थेभ्यो यत्समाहृतम् । मम चोत्तरतः कृत्वा खातं देवमयं शुभम्
īśvara uvāca | muñcadhvamudakaṃ devāstīrthebhyo yatsamāhṛtam | mama cottarataḥ kṛtvā khātaṃ devamayaṃ śubham
Īśvara dit : «Ô dieux, versez l’eau que vous avez recueillie des tīrthas. Et au nord de moi, creusez une excavation bénie, d’œuvre divine».
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Devakhāta (implied by later verse)
Type: kund
Listener: Devas
Scene: Īśvara instructs the gods: pour the collected tīrtha-waters and excavate a blessed divine pit to the north; devas prepare tools and vessels, riverbank visible.
FAQs
Sacred geography is intentionally established through dhārmic action—divine instruction shapes a tīrtha for public benefit.
The verse points to the making of a ‘khāta’ (excavated sacred reservoir), later celebrated as Devakhāta within this adhyāya’s tīrtha narrative.
Collect water from various tīrthas and pour it into an auspicious excavated reservoir made to the north of the Lord’s location.