Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 1
। नारद उवाच । सहस्रसप्तत्युच्छ्राये पातालानि परस्परम् । अतलं वितलं चैव नितलं च रसातलम्
| nārada uvāca | sahasrasaptatyucchrāye pātālāni parasparam | atalaṃ vitalaṃ caiva nitalaṃ ca rasātalam
ನಾರದನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಪಾತಾಳಲೋಕಗಳು ಒಂದರ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು, ಸಹಸ್ರಸಪ್ತತಿ (ಯೋಜನ) ಆಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿತವಾಗಿವೆ. ಅವು ಅತಲ, ವಿತಲ, ನಿತಲ ಮತ್ತು ರಸಾತಲ.
Nārada
Tirtha: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Rasātala (as Pātāla-lokas)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kauravya (a Kuru scion; likely Janamejaya in Purāṇic dialogue conventions)
Scene: Nārada speaks, enumerating the nether worlds stacked below one another, each separated by a fixed depth; a schematic vertical cross-section accompanies the narration.
FAQs
The Purāṇa maps existence in layered realms, urging a broadened vision of creation beyond the human world.
No specific tīrtha is praised; the verse is a cosmographic listing of the nether regions.
None.