Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3
ईश्वर उवाच । उक्तो यदासौ विबुधैः समस्तैरापः पुरा त्वं भुवि भक्षयस्व । यतोऽमराणां प्रथमं हि जाता आपोऽग्रजाः सर्वसुरासुरेभ्यः
īśvara uvāca | ukto yadāsau vibudhaiḥ samastairāpaḥ purā tvaṃ bhuvi bhakṣayasva | yato'marāṇāṃ prathamaṃ hi jātā āpo'grajāḥ sarvasurāsurebhyaḥ
Īśvara dit : «Lorsqu’il fut interpellé par l’ensemble des dieux, ils dirent jadis : “Sur la terre, consume les Eaux.” Car les Eaux naquirent en vérité les premières parmi les immortels, aînées de tous les dieux et des asura.»
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual) / Āpaḥ (as sacred principle)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devī
Scene: Īśvara speaks with authority; behind him, a symbolic vision of primordial waters—vast, shimmering, older than gods and asuras—suggesting cosmic antiquity. Devas appear as a collective petitioning presence.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma presents a layered cosmic hierarchy; even ‘elements’ like Waters are treated as primordial and worthy of reverent understanding.
Prabhāsakṣetra is the continuing māhātmya frame, though this verse focuses on cosmic origins rather than a named sub-site.
None; it narrates an instruction given by the Devas within the mythic account.