Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 41
सूत उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा मुनिः सोऽथ मत्स्यकच्छपसंकुलम् । हेलया प्रपपौ कृत्स्नं ग्राहैः कीर्णं महार्णवम्
sūta uvāca | evamuktvā muniḥ so'tha matsyakacchapasaṃkulam | helayā prapapau kṛtsnaṃ grāhaiḥ kīrṇaṃ mahārṇavam
Sūta dit : Ayant ainsi parlé, ce sage—sans le moindre effort—but d’un trait l’immense océan, encombré de poissons et de tortues, et rempli de crocodiles.
Sūta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied Purāṇic audience)
Scene: A radiant sage stands at the shore; the vast ocean, teeming with fish, tortoises, and crocodiles, funnels into his mouth like a cosmic whirl, revealing the seabed and stunned creatures.
FAQs
The Purāṇic vision presents realized sanctity as transformative power—when aligned with dharma, it can reshape the world’s visible order.
This verse functions as a mythic intensifier within the chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya, using the ocean-drinking act to frame the sanctity of the surrounding sacred geography.
No ritual prescription; it is narrative description of the sage’s miraculous act.