Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8
स्वागतं ते मुनिश्रेष्ठ भूयः सुस्वागतं मुने । धन्योऽहं कृतपुण्योऽहं संप्राप्तः परमां गतिम् । यत्ते पादरजोभिर्मे मूर्द्धजा विमलीकृताः
svāgataṃ te muniśreṣṭha bhūyaḥ susvāgataṃ mune | dhanyo'haṃ kṛtapuṇyo'haṃ saṃprāptaḥ paramāṃ gatim | yatte pādarajobhirme mūrddhajā vimalīkṛtāḥ
Sois le bienvenu, ô le meilleur des sages ; encore une fois, sois très bienvenu, ô muni. Je suis béni, je suis comblé de mérite ; j’ai atteint le bien suprême, car la poussière de tes pieds a purifié ma tête.
Rohitāśva (addressing Mārkaṇḍeya)
Tirtha: Ayodhyā (Satyānāmikā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Close focus on the king’s folded hands and bowed head; the sage’s feet near the foreground; a subtle aura suggests purification as the king speaks welcome twice, eyes moist with devotion.
FAQs
Contact with holiness purifies: honoring a realized sage is portrayed as a direct source of puṇya and inner cleansing.
The welcome occurs in Ayodhyā within the Sarayū tīrtha milieu, reinforcing the city’s sanctity as a meeting-ground of sages and dharma.
No formal rite is prescribed; the devotional act of honoring a sage—treating his presence as purifying—is emphasized.