Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 76
एवं प्रगच्छता तेन क्षुत्पिपासाकुलेन च । अदूरादेव संदृष्टं नीलं द्रुमकदंबकम् । भ्रममाणैर्बकैर्हंसैः सारसैर्मद्गुभिस्तथा
evaṃ pragacchatā tena kṣutpipāsākulena ca | adūrādeva saṃdṛṣṭaṃ nīlaṃ drumakadaṃbakam | bhramamāṇairbakairhaṃsaiḥ sārasairmadgubhistathā
そのように進むうち、飢えと渇きに苦しみながらも、ほど近くに濃い青黒さを帯びた木立の群れを見た。そこには鶴や白鳥、サーラサ鳥、さらにマドグ鳥が輪を描いて舞っていた。
Sūta (narrative continuation implied)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A travel-worn king, parched and hungry, glimpses a deep indigo-green grove near a lake; above it circle cranes, swans, sārasa, and madgu birds, suggesting cool shade and sanctity ahead.
FAQs
The pilgrim’s hardship (hunger and thirst) heightens the sanctity of the refuge found in tīrtha landscapes marked by purity and life.
A lake-grove environment is being approached; the verse itself does not provide the tīrtha’s formal name.
No explicit rite is stated, but the lake-and-bird setting typically foreshadows snāna (sacred bathing) in the upcoming narrative.