Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 26
श्रीविष्णुरुवाच । पुत्र त्वं विधिना चाद्य कुरु ब्रह्मांडगोलके । पातालं भूतलं चैव सिंधुसागरकाननम्
śrīviṣṇuruvāca | putra tvaṃ vidhinā cādya kuru brahmāṃḍagolake | pātālaṃ bhūtalaṃ caiva siṃdhusāgarakānanam
Śrī Viṣṇu dit : «Ô mon fils, crée maintenant, selon l’ordonnance établie, au sein de la sphère de l’Œuf cosmique : Pātāla (les mondes souterrains), le plan terrestre, ainsi que les domaines des fleuves, des océans et des forêts.»
Śrī Viṣṇu
Listener: (Brahmā, addressed as 'putra')
Scene: Viṣṇu, serene and commanding, instructs Brahmā within the luminous brahmāṇḍa; below appear layered realms—Pātāla, Bhūloka, and sweeping bands of rivers, oceans, and forests forming a cosmic cartography.
FAQs
Creation is not arbitrary; it proceeds by divine ordinance (vidhi), establishing an ordered cosmos for dharma to function.
No single tīrtha is singled out; the verse lays the cosmic template that later supports sacred geographies (rivers, oceans, forests).
No ritual is prescribed; the instruction is cosmological—creation according to vidhi.