Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3
ऋषय उचुः । एक एव स्थितः सूर्यो दृश्यते च नभस्तले । तत्कथं द्वादशैते च तत्र क्षेत्रे प्रतिष्ठिताः । कस्मिन्काले तथा कृत्ये किमर्थं सूतनन्दन
ṛṣaya ucuḥ | eka eva sthitaḥ sūryo dṛśyate ca nabhastale | tatkathaṃ dvādaśaite ca tatra kṣetre pratiṣṭhitāḥ | kasminkāle tathā kṛtye kimarthaṃ sūtanandana
Para ṛṣi berkata: Surya tampak satu saja, tegak di cakrawala langit. Lalu bagaimana dua belas ini ditegakkan di kṣetra itu? Pada masa apa, dalam keadaan apa, dan untuk tujuan apa, wahai putra Sūta?
Ṛṣis (Sages)
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (Dvādaśa-Bhāskara-pratiṣṭhā)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta (addressed as sūtanandana)
Scene: A circle of sages questions Sūta: one Sun in the sky, yet twelve installed here—visualize the sky with a single radiant orb above, and below a mandala of twelve Sūrya icons around a central shrine.
FAQs
Purāṇic sacred geography interprets cosmic unity through multiple localized manifestations to guide worship and pilgrimage.
The inquiry concerns the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, where twelve Bhāskara forms are said to be established.
None; it is a doctrinal and narrative question that introduces the forthcoming explanation.