Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 31
निवृत्तो नातिदूरेथ बिल्ववृक्षं ददर्श सः । दृष्ट्वा तं तस्य चाधस्तल्लक्षमेकं जजाप सः
nivṛtto nātidūretha bilvavṛkṣaṃ dadarśa saḥ | dṛṣṭvā taṃ tasya cādhastallakṣamekaṃ jajāpa saḥ
S’étant retourné, non loin de là il aperçut un bilva. L’ayant vu, et sous cet arbre, il récita le japa jusqu’à un lakṣa (cent mille).
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Bilva-vṛkṣa-sthāna (within the gupta-kṣetra)
Type: kund
Listener: Bhārata
Scene: Not far from the bathing place, Kālabhīti sees a bilva tree; he sits beneath it and completes a one-lakṣa japa, rosary in hand, with the tree’s trifoliate leaves prominent.
FAQs
Sacred geography is activated through intentional practice: choosing a sanctified locus (like a bilva tree) and completing disciplined japa.
The immediate sacred vicinity within the gupta-kṣetra, marked by a bilva tree—an emblematic Shaiva sacred marker.
Completion of one lakṣa (100,000) repetitions of mantra-japa, performed beneath a bilva tree.