Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8
ऋषय ऊचुः । किं प्रमाणोऽर्बुदो नाम कस्मिन्देशे व्यवस्थितः । कथं वासिष्ठमाहात्म्यात्प्रथितो धरणीतले
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ | kiṃ pramāṇo'rbudo nāma kasmindeśe vyavasthitaḥ | kathaṃ vāsiṣṭhamāhātmyātprathito dharaṇītale
ऋषियों ने कहा—‘अर्बुद’ नामक स्थान का प्रमाण और विस्तार कितना है? वह किस देश में स्थित है? और वसिष्ठ के माहात्म्य से वह पृथ्वी पर कैसे प्रसिद्ध हुआ?
Ṛṣis
Tirtha: Arbuda
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (questioned) → Ṛṣis (to be instructed)
Scene: A circle of sages respectfully questioning the narrator; behind them a faint outline of a mountain and a compass-like motif indicating ‘measure’ and ‘direction’, signaling the start of a geographic-cum-mythic exposition.
FAQs
True understanding of a tīrtha includes its geography, its spiritual lineage, and the sage-power that established its fame.
Arbuda, whose greatness is linked to Vasiṣṭha.
None; this verse frames questions to elicit the māhātmya narrative.