Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
ऋषय ऊचुः त्रीणि क्षेत्राणि कानीह तथारण्यानि कानि च । पुर्यस्तिस्रो महाभाग काःख्याताश्च वनानि च
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ trīṇi kṣetrāṇi kānīha tathāraṇyāni kāni ca | puryastisro mahābhāga kāḥkhyātāśca vanāni ca
ઋષિઓએ કહ્યું—અહીં ત્રણ ક્ષેત્ર કયા છે અને ત્રણ આરણ્ય કયા છે? હે મહાભાગ, ત્રણ ખ્યાત પુરીઓ કઈ છે અને ખ્યાત વનો કયા છે?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (addressed indirectly as ‘mahābhāga’ in the question sequence)
Scene: A circle of sages seated in a forest hermitage, respectfully questioning the narrator about the triads of kṣetras, forests, and cities; palm-leaf manuscripts and a simple route-map lie nearby.
FAQs
Purāṇic dharma preserves pilgrimage knowledge through structured inquiry—identifying kṣetras, cities, and forests as spiritual landscapes.
This verse initiates the enumeration; the specific kṣetras and āraṇyas are named in the subsequent replies (e.g., Kurukṣetra, etc.).
No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a formal question prompting the listing of sacred places for later observance (darśana, snāna, etc.).