Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 26
श्रीविष्णुरुवाच । पुत्र त्वं विधिना चाद्य कुरु ब्रह्मांडगोलके । पातालं भूतलं चैव सिंधुसागरकाननम्
śrīviṣṇuruvāca | putra tvaṃ vidhinā cādya kuru brahmāṃḍagolake | pātālaṃ bhūtalaṃ caiva siṃdhusāgarakānanam
ព្រះវិស្ណុមានព្រះបន្ទូលថា៖ «កូនអើយ ឥឡូវនេះ ចូរបង្កើតតាមវិធីដែលបានកំណត់ នៅក្នុងស្វ៊ែរនៃពងកូស्मिक—បាតាល (លោកក្រោម), ភូមិភព, និងតំបន់នៃទន្លេ មហាសមុទ្រ និងព្រៃព្រឹក្សា»
Śrī Viṣṇu
Listener: (Brahmā, addressed as 'putra')
Scene: Viṣṇu, serene and commanding, instructs Brahmā within the luminous brahmāṇḍa; below appear layered realms—Pātāla, Bhūloka, and sweeping bands of rivers, oceans, and forests forming a cosmic cartography.
FAQs
Creation is not arbitrary; it proceeds by divine ordinance (vidhi), establishing an ordered cosmos for dharma to function.
No single tīrtha is singled out; the verse lays the cosmic template that later supports sacred geographies (rivers, oceans, forests).
No ritual is prescribed; the instruction is cosmological—creation according to vidhi.