Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
स्थापयामास विप्रेंद्राः श्रद्धया परया युतः । ततश्चानीय विप्रेंद्रं मध्यगं नागरोद्भवम् । गर्तातीर्थसमुद्भूतमाहिताग्निं प्रयाजिनम् । यथैतन्नगरस्थानं तथा त्वमपि दीक्षितः
sthāpayāmāsa vipreṃdrāḥ śraddhayā parayā yutaḥ | tataścānīya vipreṃdraṃ madhyagaṃ nāgarodbhavam | gartātīrthasamudbhūtamāhitāgniṃ prayājinam | yathaitannagarasthānaṃ tathā tvamapi dīkṣitaḥ
Ô le meilleur des brāhmaṇa, animé d’une foi suprême, il l’établit. Puis, faisant venir un brāhmaṇa éminent—au centre des Nāgara, issu du saint Gartā-tīrtha, gardien des feux consacrés (āhitāgni) et accomplisseur de sacrifices—il fut déclaré : «De même que ce lieu est un siège de cité, de même toi aussi tu as reçu la dīkṣā selon le rite, pour présider ici».
Sūta (continued narration)
Tirtha: Gartā-tīrtha (as origin-point) / nagara-sthāna within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: tirtha
Listener: Ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya (implied)
Scene: A ceremonial installation: a revered brāhmaṇa (āhitāgni) is brought to the center; sacred fires, ladles, and yajña implements appear; elders declare his dīkṣā to preside over the city-seat connected to the shrine.
FAQs
Sacred places are sustained by faith, proper consecration, and the appointment of qualified ritual leaders rooted in Vedic discipline.
Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra and the associated Gartā-tīrtha within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa narrative landscape.
Consecration/establishment (sthāpanā) and initiation (dīkṣā) of an āhitāgni, sacrifice-performing brāhmaṇa to preside over rites.