Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18
राजोवाच । आहारेण नृलोकेऽस्मिन्सर्वे जीवन्ति जन्तवः । युष्माकं कतमो योऽत्र प्रोच्यतां मे सविस्तरम्
rājovāca | āhāreṇa nṛloke'sminsarve jīvanti jantavaḥ | yuṣmākaṃ katamo yo'tra procyatāṃ me savistaram
Raja berkata: Di dunia manusia ini semua makhluk hidup bertahan dengan makanan. Katakan kepadaku dengan rinci—siapakah di antara kalian yang terutama dipelihara di sini, dan dengan cara apa?
Rājā (the King)
Listener: the assembled speakers/wise ones (including Māṃsāda in subsequent verse)
Scene: The king, thoughtful, asks a detailed question about food sustaining beings; the assembly of speakers (including a figure later identified as Māṃsāda) prepares to answer about invisible recipients.
FAQs
Human life depends on food, so Dharma asks that eating be sanctified through right conduct and proper offerings.
This verse functions as a dialogue-introduction within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya rather than naming a single tīrtha in the line itself.
No direct prescription yet—this is the king’s inquiry that leads into rules about proper eating, śrāddha, and offerings.