Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 87
देशानामुत्तमो देशो गिरीणामुत्तमो गिरिः । क्षेत्राणामुत्तमं क्षेत्रं नदीनामुत्तमा सरित्
deśānāmuttamo deśo girīṇāmuttamo giriḥ | kṣetrāṇāmuttamaṃ kṣetraṃ nadīnāmuttamā sarit
Parmi les contrées, celle-ci est la plus excellente; parmi les montagnes, celle-ci est la montagne suprême; parmi les champs sacrés, celui-ci est le kṣetra le plus élevé; et parmi les rivières, celle-ci est la plus éminente des eaux courantes.
Narrator (contextual; likely Sārasvata continuing the māhātmya narration before explicit attribution)
Tirtha: Vastrāpatha (as ‘uttama’ deśa/kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A panoramic sacred map-like vision: the best land, a prominent mountain, a radiant kṣetra, and a shining river, all converging around Vastrāpatha as a unified holy landscape.
FAQs
The verse teaches reverence for sacred geography—certain places are praised as spiritually preeminent and worthy of pilgrimage and worship.
The context is the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, praising the local kṣetra as supreme.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it functions as a eulogy establishing the site’s unsurpassed sanctity.