Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5
ततस्ते नागरा बाह्यास्तां त्यक्त्वा दूरतः स्थिताः । कांदिशीकास्ततो याता भक्ष्यमाणास्तु राक्षसैः । नर्मदायास्तटे पुण्ये मार्कण्डाश्रमसंनिधौ
tataste nāgarā bāhyāstāṃ tyaktvā dūrataḥ sthitāḥ | kāṃdiśīkāstato yātā bhakṣyamāṇāstu rākṣasaiḥ | narmadāyāstaṭe puṇye mārkaṇḍāśramasaṃnidhau
Alors ces Nāgaras de l’extérieur quittèrent ce lieu et demeurèrent au loin. De là, ils gagnèrent Kāṃdiśī, tout en étant la proie des rākṣasas, jusqu’à atteindre la rive sacrée de la Narmadā, près de l’ermitage de Mārkaṇḍeya.
Sūta (contextual continuation)
Tirtha: Narmadā-taṭa (near Mārkaṇḍeya-āśrama)
Type: ghat
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly
Scene: A frightened community of ‘Outer Nāgaras’ moving in a caravan, looking back as shadowy rākṣasas stalk them; the scene resolves into dawn light at the Narmadā bank with a serene hermitage nearby.
FAQs
When a sacred environment becomes hostile through adharma, seekers move toward safer tīrthas and saintly āśramas, where dharma is protected.
The holy bank of the Narmadā, especially the area near Mārkaṇḍeya’s āśrama.
No explicit rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on seeking refuge in a sanctified landscape (Narmadā-tīra and ṛṣi-āśrama).